Department for Transport

Rail Accident Investigation Branch

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings have been held by (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) on the investigation by the RAIB into train driver fatigue.

Paul Maynard: A meeting is scheduled for me to meet with the Chief Executive of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) concerning its recent investigation into train driver fatigue.

Transport: Chippenham

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on transport infrastructure projects in Chippenham constituency in each year from 2010-11 to 2015-16.

Andrew Jones: Data on spend on transport infrastructure projects is not available at the level of Chippenham. However, Wiltshire Council is responsible for local transport infrastructure in Chippenham, including local roads. The funding allocated to Wiltshire Council for local highways infrastructure and other transport schemes between 2010-11 and 2015-16 is listed in Table 1 below: Table 1YearIntegrated Transport Block* £millionHighways Maintenance Block* £millionAdditional Funding** £millionTotal £million2010/113.28612.6151.46617.3672011/122.91814,4913.74121.1502012/132.66813.813 16.4812013/142.66815.3693.01021.0472014/153.75213.5193.06320.3342015/162.18116.599 18.780Total17.47386.40611.280 *includes top ups** following snow and flooding Wiltshire Council have been successful in gaining the following funding for transport infrastructure projects, some of which will have benefitted the Chippenham constituency: - Partly funded under the Department’s ‘Access for All’ scheme, £2.2m to install a bridge and lifts at Chippenham Station. The station officially opened by Network Rail on 22nd January 2016. - The A350 north of Chippenham from Badger Roundabout to Chequers Junction, A350 Chippenham Bypass is being upgraded to a dual carriageway. The improvements will help reduce journey times and ease the congestion around this area. Estimated to be completed and opened by August 2018. The Swindon and Wiltshire Partnership has allocated Local Growth Fund funding to the following transport schemes across Swindon and Wiltshire which will benefit the Chippenham constituency:- A429 Malmesbury Access scheme - £1.4m for transport improvements to improve traffic flow and facilitate the expansion of Dyson at their Malmesbury site.- Chippenham station hub - £16m for the redevelopment of Chippenham station including enhanced parking and retail offer and new railway crossing.- A350 Dualling Chippenham Bypass - £8.8m for dualling the A350 north of Chippenham from Badger Roundabout to Chequers Junction. Wiltshire Council benefited from Local Pinch Point funding of £1.905m towards the A350 Chippenham Dualling. This scheme completed in March 2015.  Figures are available for the South West for total public sector transport spend as listed in Table 2: Table 2 Total Public Sector Transport Spend for the South West£million 2010-11 outturn2011-12 outturn2012-13 outturn2013-14 outturn2014-15 outturnTotal1,1159979879281,047Current442396368295279Capital673601619633767Note: includes spend by Central Government, Agencies and Local Government.

High Speed Two: Public Appointments

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the planned timetable is for the recruitment of a new chief executive for HS2 Ltd.

Andrew Jones: Recruitment for the permanent role is underway. HS2 Ltd expect to select the candidate early in the New Year and anticipate the individual should be in place by summer 2017. In order to ensure that there continues to be strong executive leadership during this period HS2 Ltd has this week appointed Roy Hill as the interim CEO. He will take up his position in November.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the £55.7 billion cost of the High Speed 2 project also includes the cost for the High Speed 3 project.

Andrew Jones: Spending Review 2015 restated the long-term budget for HS2 at £55.7bn (2015 prices). This is for the entire ‘Y’ network, including Phase 1 and 2. The government committed a separate £60m from the Transport Development Fund for the development of Northern Powerhouse Rail (sometimes known as HS3) at this year’s Budget. Transport for the North are leading the development of a range of potential options for Northern Powerhouse Rail, including options that make use of sections of the HS2 network, major upgrades, and new lines. Transport for the North will publish their priorities for further development in spring 2017.

Roads: Accidents

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what date his Department holds on the number of incidents involving (a) lorries and (b) buses that related to wheel loss.

Andrew Jones: The police-reported personal injury accident data does not include anything that specifies whether an accident resulted from wheel loss. The closest piece of information in the statistics is the contributory factor of ‘tyres illegal, defective or under inflated’. A total of 19 heavy goods vehicles and two buses or coaches in Great Britain had this contributory factor in 2015.

Volkswagen

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has received assurances from Volkswagen that fixes made in response to problems with emissions testing will be completed in 2016.

Mr John Hayes: The Government continues to take the unacceptable actions of the Volkswagen Group extremely seriously and I have pressed the company to ensure that they are implementing the technical solutions as quickly as possible for UK consumers. I recently summoned Volkswagen UK to a meeting where they set out their intention to have “fixed” 90% of affected UK vehicles by June 2017. To date, of the 1.2 million affected vehicles in the UK, 479,000 have had a technical solution approved and approximately 180,000 have been “fixed”.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Southeastern railway on the leasing of the current Thameslink rolling stock immediately after new Thameslink trains become available; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Maynard: The Department is exploring the provision of additional rolling stock to Southeastern, in order to lengthen services and increase capacity for passengers. This requires extensive commercial negotiations with Southeastern. We are continuing to work with Southeastern to develop the business case, and an announcement will be made in due course.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Community Relations

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects the review by Dame Louise Casey into opportunity and integration in isolated communities to be published.

Mr Marcus Jones: Dame Louise Casey's important review will be published shortly.

Private Rented Housing: Greater London

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support London boroughs in areas where the number of rogue private landlords is increasing.

Gavin Barwell: The Government has made £12 million available to a range of local authorities to help them crack down on rogue landlords. £6.6 milion of that funding was provided to London boroughs. Through the Housing and Planning Act 2016, the Government is introducing a package of measures to help local authorities go further in tackling rogue landlords. They include a database of rogue landlords and property agents, banning orders for prolific and serious offenders, civil penalties of up to £30,000 and extended Rent Repayment Orders. These provisions are expected to come into force in 2017.On 18 October the Government also announced plans to extend mandatory licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) to strengthen councils to tackle problems homes head-on and bring an end to ruthless landlords who exploit tenants and charge them extortionate rents to live in poor conditions. These measures will ensure mandatory licensing rules apply to HMOs with five or more people, and to flats above and below shops. Minimum room sizes will also apply to HMOs to help to clamp down on rogue landlords cramming tenants into unsafe and overcrowded homes.This Government is committed to ensuring this country work for everyone, and a key part of that is ensuring everyone has a safe and secure home.

Domestic Violence and Forced Marriage: Victim Support Schemes

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to work with community groups and charities to encourage victims of (a) forced marriage and (b) domestic violence to seek help and advice.

Mr Marcus Jones: Violence against women and girls is a devastating crime that destroys lives. That is why we are committed to ensuring that no victim is turned away from the support they need. The Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2016-2020 committed £80 million to protect women and girls against violence and abuse. The funding will enable us to fulfil our commitment to work with local commissioners to deliver a secure future for rape support centres, refuges and FGM and Forced Marriage Units, whilst driving a major change across all services which promotes early intervention and prevention.The Government works with a range of partners at national, regional and local level, including community groups and charities, to ensure victims of forced marriage and domestic abuse are provided with effective support to meet their needs. The joint Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Forced Marriage Unit runs a helpline which offers support to professionals, victims, and those at risk of forced marriage. The Unit also works closely with community groups and charities, runs a comprehensive outreach programme, and provides e-learning tools and guidance. The Department for Communities and Local Government has invested £281,000 over the financial year 2016/17 in UK Refuges Online (UKROL) to ensure victims of domestic abuse calling the 24-hour National Domestic Violence Helpline, funded by the government and delivered by Women’s Aid and Refuge, get additional help to identify appropriate services around the country to meet their needs.

Public Sector: Immigrants

Matt Warman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish further information on the proposed Controlling Migration Fund; what the criteria for that Fund will be; and when that Fund will come into operation.

Mr Marcus Jones: Government will launch the Fund later this year. Further details about the Fund and its operating criteria will be made clear at that time.

Social Rented Housing: EEA Nationals

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to restrict or remove EU and EEA nationals' entitlement to access social housing after the UK leaves the EU.

Gavin Barwell: We are working with Departments across Government to agree the UK’s negotiating position on EU exit. The Prime Minister has been clear we will not give a running commentary on Brexit negotiations.

Combined Authorities: Dorset

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 48308, when he expects to reach a conclusion on whether the proposal for the combined authority meets the statutory test; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the summary of consultation responses submitted on 26 July 2016.

Andrew Percy: In reaching a decision, the Secretary of State will take into account the governance review, the councils' statutory scheme setting out their proposals, the summary of responses which is available on the councils’ web site at the link below, and any other relevant information, and plans to take decisions, likely to be around the start of 2017, on a timetable that would enable the combined authority to be established on 1 April 2017.https://www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/article/421739/Dorset-Combined-Authority-proposals-and-consultation

Members: Correspondence

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to respond to the letter of 20 September 2016 from the hon. Member for Christchurch on the involvement of his Department with the consultation document and questionnaire on possible Dorset local government reorganisation.

Mr Marcus Jones: A reply was sent to my hon Friend on 20 October.

Members: Correspondence

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State plans to respond to the letter of 22 September 2016 from the hon. Member for Christchurch seeking further information to the Answer of 8 September 2016 to Question 45756.

Mr Marcus Jones: I replied to my hon Friend on 17 October 2016.

Local Plans

Mims Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of land in England is covered by an adopted local plan.

Gavin Barwell: 244 of 338 local planning authorities (72%) have an adopted Local Plan, compared to 58 (17%) in May 2010. Approximately 69% of England's land area is covered by adopted Local Plans. In order to ensure areas get plans in place the Government has tabled an amendment to the Neighbourhood Planning Bill to place a statutory duty on every local planning authority to have a development plan document and to give the Secretary of State power to direct the relevant county council to produce a plan if a local planning authority in a two-tier area has failed to do so.

Homelessness: North East

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of homelessness in the North East of England.

Mr Marcus Jones: One person without a home is one too many. That is why the Government is clear that prevention must be at the heart of everything we do to tackle homelessness. We have protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, which will amount to £315 million by 2020, to help them provide quality advice and assistance to everyone who approaches them for help.We have also increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million and why we have just announced the new £40 million Homelessness Prevention Programme to provide an innovative approach to reducing homelessness, with prevention at its heart.The Homelessness Prevention Programme includes;£20 million to establish a network of ambitious Homelessness Prevention Trailblazer areas that will give local authorities the resources to ramp up prevention and take new approaches to reduce homelessness;a £10 million rough sleeping grant fund for targeted prevention or early intervention for those at imminent risk of sleeping rough; anda new £10 million Social Impact Bond to support rough sleepers with the most complex needs which builds on the success of the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond (SIB), run by the Greater London Authority. This SIB turned round the lives of around 830 of London’s most entrenched rough sleepers over half of which have achieved accommodation, employment or reconnection outcomes.As well as this, we announced in the Budget an additional £100 million to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to enable people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis, providing at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living.In the North East, Newcastle City Council has been announced as an early adopter of our Homelessness Prevention Trailblazer programme. The Council has been awarded £1 million to build on the good work they are doing in driving reform and innovation in homelessness prevention.

Social Services: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many representations he has received about levels of local government funding for social care provision in England in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: My Department receives representations on a wide range of matters relating to local government. Information regarding the number of representations relating specifically to funding for social care provision is not readily available. Protecting social care is a priority for the Government and so we have ensured local authorities have access to the funding they need to provide it. Provision is ultimately a local decision, based on local priorities.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy that consumers who wish to switch energy providers only have to make contact with the new provider.

Jesse Norman: The process for switching supplier is set out in industry codes, in the formulation of which the Government has no role. The Energy Switching Guarantee was launched in June this year and can be reached via https://www.energyswitchguarantee.com/. This makes switching energy supplier easier for consumers and guarantees that it will be done within 21 days. The guarantee also ensures that the new supplier will handle the whole transfer process for the consumer.

Universities: EU Grants and Loans

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on whether UK universities are being excluded from joint funding applications made with other EU universities for EU funding.

Joseph Johnson: The European Commission has made it clear that while the UK remains a member of the EU, proposals from, or including, UK applicants must be treated in the same way as applications from other Member States including for collaborations under Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+.In addition, the HM Treasury announcement on 13th August brought clarity on continuity of research funding by stating that competitively bid for projects applied for before the UK departs the EU would be underwritten by the Treasury for the life of the project.The Government is vigilant and will continue to monitor any problems in this area. To aid this we have set up a mailbox where specific instances should be sent: [emailprotected]/*  */!function(t,e,r,n,c,a,p){try{t=document.currentScript||function(){for(t=document.getElementsByTagName('script'),e=t.length;e--;)if(t[e].getAttribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t.previousSibling)){p=t.parentNode;if(a=c.getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e='',r='0x'+a.substr(0,2)|0,n=2;a.length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a.substr(n,2)^r).toString(16)).slice(-2);p.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)),c)}p.removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()/*  */.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the security of the intellectual property of the European Pressurised Reactor technology to be used at Hinkley Point C.

Jesse Norman: On 15 September, following the comprehensive review of the Hinkley Point C project, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State announced new safeguards for future foreign investment in critical infrastructure. The protection of intellectual property at Hinkley Point C is a commercial matter for the developer.

Mineworkers' Pension Scheme

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will assess the balance of the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme surplus-sharing arrangements.

Jesse Norman: The existing surplus-sharing arrangements have worked well to date. The presence of the Guarantee has given the Trustees, who are responsible for managing the Scheme and are independent of Government, the freedom to invest in a way that has generated surpluses and, as a consequence, bonuses to members.

Erasmus+ Programme

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to retain access to the Erasmus Plus programme after the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson: The referendum result has no immediate effect on students abroad under the Erasmus scheme or applying for 2016/17. Payments will be made in the usual way. Access to the programme after we leave the EU is a matter for the forthcoming negotiations. Consideration of other options will depend on the outcome of these negotiations.

Solar Power

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make assessments of projected installed generating capacity for non-domestic solar panel installations in each of the next five years, based on the (a) current rate of £8 per kilowatt and (b) Valuation Office Agency proposal for up to £61 per kilowatt.

Jesse Norman: The impact of the proposed changes will be highly sensitive to future ownership models that determine the rateable values to apply; it is therefore not possible to project this impact at present.

Higher Education

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will provide the email address for people to contact his Department with examples of the effect the UK leaving the EU is having on universities and academia and place in the Library copies of the emails received.

Joseph Johnson: The Government is committed to ensuring the best possible outcomes for UK Science and Research as we exit the European Union. Academics, researchers and others with an interest can email ‘[emailprotected]/*  */!function(t,e,r,n,c,a,p){try{t=document.currentScript||function(){for(t=document.getElementsByTagName('script'),e=t.length;e--;)if(t[e].getAttribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t.previousSibling)){p=t.parentNode;if(a=c.getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e='',r='0x'+a.substr(0,2)|0,n=2;a.length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a.substr(n,2)^r).toString(16)).slice(-2);p.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)),c)}p.removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()/*  */’ to register any issues experienced in engaging with European supported activities. Information submitted via this email account is being dealt with the strictest confidence by the Department and there are no plans to provide running updates on evidence shared.

Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy: Scientific Advisers

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has a scientific advisor on the team which is leading on negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Joseph Johnson: The Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Mark Walport, and Chief Scientific Advisers in departments across government (including the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) continue to provide impartial science advice in support of government policy, including our departure from the EU.

Sellafield

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason employees at Sellafield Ltd are treated as being in the private sector for pension purposes and are regarded as being in the public sector for the purposes of a cap on exit payments.

Jesse Norman: The Government has legislated for a cap on public sector exit payments via the Enterprise Act 2016, as promised in the manifesto. The cap will apply to public sector organisations in line with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) classifications; Sellafield Limited is classified as part of the public sector by the ONS. Sellafield Limited receives the majority of its funding from the Exchequer; it is therefore important to ensure that any exit payments are fair, proportionate and represent value for money for the taxpayer.The specific pension arrangements for Sellafield Limited employees are a matter for Sellafield Limited and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Government policy on public service pension schemes, as set out in Public Service Pensions: Good Pensions that Last (2011), is to move away from final-salary based schemes. The Government is therefore considering how best to apply public service pension reform policy to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority estate whilst being mindful of the particular circumstances of the workforce, in particular at Sellafield Limited.

Sellafield

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received on the application of the cap on public sector exit payments to employees of Sellafield Ltd; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: In relation to Sellafield Limited employees, my rt. hon Friend the Secretary of State has received representations, including from employees, employee representatives and Members of Parliament.The Government has legislated for a cap on public sector exit payments via the Enterprise Act 2016, as promised in the manifesto. The cap will apply to public sector organisations in line with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) classifications; Sellafield Limited is classified as part of the public sector by the ONS.

Trident Submarines: Iron and Steel

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department was notified of the decision to use French steel to build the Trident successor submarines.

Mr Nick Hurd: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Trident Submarines: Iron and Steel

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what type of assessment his Department has made of whether the use of French steel for successor Trident submarines meets the Government's procurement guidelines.

Mr Nick Hurd: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy: Prices

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department has made in implementing (a) all the recommendations and (b) the recommendations that seek to achieve fairer energy tariffs for disabled people in the report by the Extra Costs Commission, Driving down the extra costs face disabled people.

Jesse Norman: We welcome the Extra Costs Commission’s report ‘Driving down the extra costs disabled people face’, and in particular the Commission’s recommendation that disability organisations should consider setting up price comparison and collective switching schemes to assist disabled consumers to compare and switch tariffs so as to achieve better energy deals.

Energy: Conservation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the energy-saving capacity of 5v USB outlets; and what assessment he has made of their potential effect on national domestic energy consumption.

Joseph Johnson: The Department has not made a specific assessment of whether 5v USB outlets offer any energy-saving capacity nor of their effect on national energy consumption.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on the potential number of eligible claimants for the warm homes discount scheme that have been contacted by a third party using data shared with them as part of that scheme; how his Department monitors the use made of information given to such third parties; and how many complaints his Department has received on such contacts.

Jesse Norman: The Warm Home Discount scheme uses a secure data share between the Department for Work and Pensions and participating energy suppliers in order to deliver direct assistance with energy bills each winter to eligible households.Suppliers already hold data on customers’ names and addresses - the only additional information they receive under the secure data share for the Warm Home Discount is which of their customers are eligible for the rebate. The Regulations under Section 142 of the Pensions Act 2008[1] only allow suppliers to use the information they obtain through the data share to provide energy bill rebates or defined relevant assistance such as energy efficiency advice and measures. The regulations make it an offence to disclose the information without lawful authority. Any transfer and storage of personal data by the energy suppliers would also be subject to the requirements of the Data Protection Act. Energy suppliers are required (under contract) to demonstrate that they have secure measures in place for the handling, transferring and deletion of the personal data that has been supplied to them under the secure data share. In addition, individuals are able to ‘opt out’ of the data share for the Warm Home Discount scheme, meaning that DWP would not share any state pension credit information on that individual with energy suppliers. For Scheme Year 6 (this year), six people have formally taken up this option. There is a formal complaints procedure in place between BEIS, DWP and Serco, who manage the WHD contact centre. No complaints of this nature have been made under this complaints procedure against energy suppliers.[1] The Disclosure of State Pension Credit Information (Warm Home Discount) Regulations 2011

Airbnb

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what consumer protection is available for people who book and pay for accommodation through Airbnb and then find that the accommodation does not exist.

Margot James: Consumer protection is a cornerstone of a well-functioning economy that works for everyone. As such, all UK consumers, including those in the sharing economy, are covered by consumer protection regulations against unfair commercial practices. As the sharing economy continues to grow and diversify an important part of the success of companies, such as AirBnB, will be ensuring the safety and confidence of consumers is paramount. The Government has worked closely with sharing economy businesses and recognises that a number of companies are taking welcome steps to achieve this. Alongside this, the trade body SEUK, has recently developed a Kitemark to give consumers increased trust and confidence. The Government will continue to work with industry to consider what further steps may be necessary to ensure consumers are adequately protected as part of a sharing economy that works for all.

Companies: Directors

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has for employees' representation on company boards; and what conditions will be set for such representation.

Margot James: UK companies are able to appoint employees to their company boards presently, but very few do. Many UK companies deploy alternative approaches to engaging their employees. The issue of employees’ representation on company boards will be included in a discussion document that will be published by Government later this year.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Colombia: Peace Negotiations

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support a peace process in Colombia.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK will continue to support Colombia in its search for peace. This includes working closely with the Colombian mission to the UN and other partners in the UN Security Council, where the UK secured unanimous support for two Resolutions on the peace processWe have previously provided diplomatic, financial and technical assistance to peace-building, including advice from our experience in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. Since 2015, we have spent almost £10m through our Conflict, Stabilisation and Security Fund supporting post-conflict planning, security transition and justice reform. This includes £4.2m to the UN Post-Conflict Trust Fund, as well as supporting the Organisation of American States monitoring mission on independent monitoring of conflict areas.The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) congratulated President Santos following the award of the Nobel Peace Prize recognising the President's efforts to achieve peace for all Colombians. The upcoming State Visit of President Santos to the UK is an opportunity to advance our cooperation.

Occupied Territories: Housing

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the press statement issued by the Minister for the Middle East and Africa on 5 October 2016, entitled Minister for the Middle East statement on plans to construct a new settlement in the West Bank, what discussions he has had with the government of Israel on preventing illegal settlement activity in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign Secretary, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), raised our concerns over new settlements with the Israeli Prime Minister when he met him in Jerusalem on 30 September. On 7 September, during a meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Lieberman in London, I also raised our concerns about settlements. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv also regularly raises our concerns with the Israeli authorities on the continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

Occupied Territories: Housing

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on demolitions that took place on 9 October 2016 in the community of Khan al-Ahmar in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: While we have not had any discussions with the Israeli authorities on this specific issue, on 7 September, during a meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Lieberman in London, I raised our concerns about demolitions. The UK's positions on demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is clear: such demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; are harmful to the peace process; and are, in all but the most exceptional of cases, contrary to international law.

Kenya: Migrant Camps

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect the closure of the Dadaab refugee camp will have on the stability of Somalia and the East Africa region.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: ​The Government recognises the significant burden that the Government of Kenya faces in housing a large number of Somali refugees, and encourages it to maintain its global leadership role in this regard as well as its international obligations. Any returns of refugees from Dadaab to Somalia must be in line with international law – including being safe, dignified and voluntary. This is critical to avoid any destabilising impact on Somalia and the East Africa region. The UK supports the extension of the Tripartite Agreement between UNHCR, Kenya and Somalia as the legal basis regulating the returns process.The UK is providing an additional £20 million to support accelerated safe voluntary returns of refugees to Somalia from Kenya, by helping to ensure that refugees who want to return home have the support and possibility of livelihoods necessary for their safe, long-term resettlement in Somalia.

China: Human Rights

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, at what (a) ministerial (b) official level the Government will be represented in the next round of the human rights dialogue with the Chinese authorities.

Alok Sharma: ​I intend to open the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue later this month. As in previous years, the UK delegation will be led by the Director of Asia Pacific Directorate in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last raised the detention of the Panchen Lama with the Chinese authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: We raised the case of the Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in 2014. The Chinese authorities stated in September 2015 that the Panchen Lama was "leading a normal life" in China.We urge China to ensure that any restrictions on the Panchen Lama's freedom of movement and communication are lifted, so that he may select the career, education or religious life of his choosing. We will continue to support calls by the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief for the relevant authorities to facilitate a meeting between the Panchen Lama and independent international observers.

Tibet: Dams

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the (a) Chinese and (b) Indian authorities on the damming of rivers in Tibet and the effect of that action on water supplies to India.

Alok Sharma: ​We have had no discussions with the Chinese or Indian authorities on the damming of rivers in Tibet.The UK supports sustainable economic development in Tibet. Decisions about the management of shared regional resources, like water, are best taken in consultation with neighbouring countries.

Tibet: Visits Abroad

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when a UK (a) Minister and (b) official last visited (i) the area designated by the Chinese government as the Tibetan Autonomous Region and (ii) the areas of Tibet subsumed by the Chinese government into China in the 1960's; what requests for such visits are outstanding; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: ​I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer given by the former Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), to the Hon. Member for Dundee West (Mr Law), on 4 May 2016 (PQ 35590), copied below for ease of reference:The Hon. Member for Bury South (Mr Lewis) was the last serving Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) minister to visit the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), in September 2009. An FCO official last visited the TAR in June 2014. We continue to press the Chinese authorities for further access.

Central America: Diplomatic Service

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to review the level of limited diplomatic representations of the UK in Central America.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK Government's links with the Central American region are strong and were enhanced in 2012 following the then Government's decision to reopen our Embassy in El Salvador. We have Embassies located in five of the seven Central American countries - Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama. We also have Honorary Counsuls in Nicaragua and Honduras.Our Ambassadors to Guatemala and Costa Rica are non-resident Ambassadors to Honduras and Nicaragua respectively. They and their staff in Guatemala City and San José visit Honduras and Nicaragua regularly and engage across the full range of our interests in the region. While we keep our diplomatic network under review, there are currently no plans to change the UK's diplomatic footprint in Central America.I look forward to meeting my counterparts from across Central America at the EU-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Foreign Ministers meeting in the Dominican Republic on 25-26 October.

Saudi Arabia: Human Rights

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Saudi Arabian counterpart on (a) torture, (b) the death penalty, (c) public executions and (d) the tolerance of free speech in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We do not shy away from raising legitimate human rights concerns. The Foreign Secretary most recently raised human rights with the Saudi Arabian authorities on 7 September. Our Embassy in Riyadh also frequently raise our concerns and will continue to do so.Saudi Arabia remains a Foreign and Commonwealth Office human rights priority country, because of the use of the death penalty, limited access to justice, women's issues and restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion or belief. The Saudi Arabian government is well aware of our views.

Arms Control: Education

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will take steps to implement recommendations from the UN report, entitled Ways to promote education and training in disarmament and non-proliferation at all levels of formal and informal education; if he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Education to designate a focal point for disarmament and non-proliferation education; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: Officials have been asked to review the report and its recommendations, consulting with officials in the Department for Education.

Bahrain: Security

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will place in the Library a copy of all of his Department's assessments of security contracts funded by his Department in Bahrain.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: ​These programmes are routinely monitored and evaluated on a quarterly basis to ensure that they are on track for delivery. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provides updates on its programme work in its annual Human Rights reports.All FCO programmes that support security reform are carefully considered in line with Her Majesty's Government's Overseas Security and Justice Assistance Guidance in order to assess and mitigate human rights risks. Our assistance is specifically designed to assist the Government of Bahrain improve human rights standards and strengthen the rule of law.

Qatar: Football

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has held with his counterparts in Qatar on the human rights situation and working conditions for foreign workers building stadia for the 2022 World Cup.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We continue to support Qatar's efforts in preparing for the FIFA World Cup in 2022, including ensuring UK businesses involved adhere to international and Qatari labour laws, and we support the steps that the Qatari government has taken to respond to concerns about the treatment of migrant workers. We continue to discuss implementation with the Qatari government and we welcome the Government of Qatar's commitment to the ongoing, systematic reform of Qatar's labour laws.

Qatar: Football

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts from (a) Nepal, (b) Bangladesh and (c) India on the human rights situation and working conditions of citizens of those countries who are working in Qatar.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We continue to support Qatar's efforts in preparing for the FIFA World Cup in 2022, including ensuring UK businesses involved adhere to international and Qatari labour laws, and we support the steps that the Qatari government has taken to respond to concerns about the treatment of migrant workers. We continue to discuss implementation with the Qatari government and we welcome the Government of Qatar's commitment to the ongoing, systematic reform of Qatar's labour laws.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Aviation

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, to which destinations (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have taken flights as part of their official duties since his appointment as Foreign Secretary.

Sir Alan Duncan: The details of overseas visits undertaken by Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers, including the mode of transport used, are published in quarterly returns, which are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/minister-data

Bahrain: Prisons

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department advised the Northern Ireland Executive on human rights concerns and other sensitivities for Northern Ireland Co-operation Overseas Ltd undertaking a contract for Bahrain's prison system.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK Government continues to assist Bahrain in their reform agenda including by working with the Northern Ireland Cooperation Overseas programme, whose aims are to assist the Government of Bahrain to bring its justice system into compliance with international standards. The UK Government continues to have frank discussions with the Government of Bahrain about our concerns on human rights cases. We continue to encourage the Bahraini authorities to respect the rights of all its citizens and we have encouraged them to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression most recently at the UN Human Rights Commission meeting in September.

Bahrain: Prisons

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has received representations from Northern Ireland authorities on potential human rights, reputational implications and other concerns for the Northern Ireland Co-operation Overseas Ltd undertaking a contract to work for the Bahraini prison system.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK Government continues to assist Bahrain in their reform agenda including by working with the Northern Ireland Co-operation Overseas programme whose aims are to assist the Government of Bahrain to bring its justice system into compliance with international standards. We enjoy a close relationship with the Devolved Administrations and would certainly work with the Northern Ireland authorities on any issue.The UK Government continues to have frank discussions with the Government of Bahrain at all levels about our concerns on some cases brought against political opposition members and human rights activists.

Bahrain: Prisons

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the Reprieve report, entitled Belfast to Bahrain: the Torture Trail and its findings of work carried out by Northern Ireland Co-operation Overseas Ltd in Bahrain.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: ​The UK Government continues to assist Bahrain in their reform agenda including by working with the Northern Ireland Co-operation Overseas (NICO) programme. Our and NICO's aims are to assist the Government of Bahrain to bring its justice system into compliance with international standards. All of NICO's work in Bahrain is regularly monitored and reviewed and continues to comply with rigorous UK human rights standards, which are in line with international human rights law. The impact of their work has been and continues to be positive.

Cabinet Office

Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay

Clive Efford: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2016 to Question 37393, how many civil servants have had their exit payments capped at £95,000 prior to 1 October 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Skidmore: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 20 October 2016.The correct answer should have been:

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.The Government legislated to end six figure exit payments in the public sector through the Enterprise Act and will lay secondary legislation to bring a £95,000 cap into force.

Chris Skidmore: I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.The Government legislated to end six figure exit payments in the public sector through the Enterprise Act and will lay secondary legislation to bring a £95,000 cap into force.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Sustainable Development

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when the Government plans to publish its report outlining the international and domestic approach to implementation of the UN Sustainable Goals.

Rory Stewart: The drafting of the Government’s report outlining the UK’s approach to implementing the Global Goals for Sustainable Development is a cross-government effort. The report will be published in due course.

Developing Countries: Renewable Energy

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will increase investment in decentralised renewable energy to benefit the world's poorest people.

James Wharton: The UK Government is already playing a leading role in improving energy access in developing countries through decentralised renewable energy. DFID has a range of programmes which are working with developing countries to ensure renewable energy markets work effectively as well as supporting energy businesses to grow, and providing consumers with access to funding to buy solar goods.DFID’s Energy Africa campaign is one way that we are helping increase access to energy. Energy Africa aims to accelerate the expansion of the household solar market in Africa, and is about making the market work for the poor. It helps remove the barriers to household solar market expansion, including policy and regulatory obstacles, and supports businesses to innovate in energy services and technologies. DFID also supports numerous other initiatives to increase people’s access to energy through decentralised renewable energy. For example, the Renewable Energy and Adaptation to Climate Technologies (REACT) Challenge Fund has supported businesses in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda to provide clean energy for households, communities and businesses.

Developing Countries: Renewable Energy

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing the level of funding for decentralised renewable energy to improve access to electricity for the world's poorest people.

James Wharton: The UK Government is already playing a leading role in improving energy access in developing countries through decentralised renewable energy. DFID’s energy work is aligned with the new Global Goals, particularly Goal 7, to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. DFID’s priorities for how we will achieve this include through flexible technical assistance, catalytic investments and engagement with international partners. DFID’s assistance looks across the energy spectrum and covers both on-grid as well as decentralised off-grid renewable energy.

Department for International Development: Aviation

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, to which destinations (a) Ministers and (b) officials of her Department have taken flights as part of their official duties since her appointment.

Rory Stewart: DFID publishes information about flights and other expenses incurred on Ministerial and senior official overseas trips on a quarterly basis on www.gov.uk.

Department for Education

Department For Education: EU Law

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which agreed EU directives have not yet been transposed directly into UK law; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation. There are no EU directives relating to policy areas for which the Department for Education has lead responsibility that are awaiting transposition into UK law.

Pre-school Education: Disadvantaged

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of disadvantaged two year-olds take up the free 15 hours of early education in each type of setting; and what evidence her Department has gathered on the effect of that offer on the developmental gap between disadvantaged two year-olds and their peers and (b) the comparative effect of that early education being delivered in each type of early years setting.

Caroline Dinenage: Information on how many and what proportion of disadvantaged two-year-olds take up the free 15 hours of early education in each type of setting is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/education-provision-children-under-5-years-of-age-january-2016, and data has been presented in the attached table. The Government is committed to ensuring that all children are able to fulfil their potential. Evidence shows that what happens in the early years of a child’s life is crucial to their future. The Department understands that the impact of our early education entitlements is important, and commissioned a major piece of longitudinal research – the Study of Early Education and Development – to understand more about how high quality early education affects attainment and social and behavioural development up to age seven. Findings are forthcoming and will include the impact of funded early years education for two-year-olds and evidence on the effect of the policy being delivered in different types of early years settings. Findings will be published and available at: http://www.seed.natcen.ac.uk/reports.aspx More widely, there is a strong evidence base from the UK and around the world that shows high quality early education has long lasting benefits for children. Analysis of the evidence from ‘Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education Project’, which was published in September 2014, has shown that a child has a greater chance of getting better exam results and ultimately earning higher wages by receiving pre-school education. We also know that attending high quality pre-school from age two has a positive impact on cognitive attainment.

Children's Centres: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sure Start centres have closed in Nottinghamshire since 2010; and where such centres were located.

Caroline Dinenage: According to information supplied by Nottinghamshire County Council, no children’s centres sites have closed in Nottinghamshire since April 2010.

Sixth Form Education

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of any correlation between the size of a school sixth form and the grade awarded by Ofsted for its sixth form provision.

Robert Halfon: The Department for Education has not made any assessment of the correlation between the size of a school’s sixth form and the grade awarded by Ofsted to that school with respect to its sixth-form provision. We continue to monitor school and sixth form performance on an ongoing basis using a range of metrics, including Ofsted inspection outcomes, minimum standards and performance table data.

Children: Day Care

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding per head was received for childcare in (a) the Enfield North constituency, (b) Enfield and (c) London in the latest period for which figures are available.

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding per head has been allocated for childcare in (a) the Enfield North constituency, (b) Enfield and (c) London for the financial years (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18.

Caroline Dinenage: Funding for the free early years entitlements is allocated on a local authority basis. In 2016-17, the relevant hourly funding rates per child for local authorities in London (including Enfield) were as follows: Local authorityThree and four year old entitlementTwo year old entitlementEnfield£4.16£5.28Greenwich£5.29£6.07Barking and Dagenham£4.27£5.28Barnet£4.80£5.53Bexley£3.97£5.28Brent£6.24£5.53Bromley£4.10£5.28Croydon£4.80£5.28Ealing£5.95£5.53Harrow£4.55£5.53Havering£4.19£5.28Hillingdon£5.16£5.53Hounslow£3.98£5.53Kingston upon Thames£3.93£5.53Merton£4.10£5.53Redbridge£4.34£5.28Richmond upon Thames£3.79£5.53Sutton£4.72£5.53Waltham Forest£5.14£5.28City of London£7.87£7.08Camden£9.17£6.07Hackney£7.50£6.07Hammersmith and Fulham£6.62£6.07Islington£8.41£6.07Kensington and Chelsea£6.73£6.07Lambeth£7.86£6.07Lewisham£6.12£6.07Southwark£8.64£6.07Tower Hamlets£8.21£6.07Wandsworth£5.19£6.07Westminster£7.20£6.07Haringey£5.63£5.28Newham£5.17£5.28  All funding rates for three and four year olds are exclusive of the Early Years Pupil Premium which is an additional funding stream for disadvantaged children. We have recently consulted on a new early years national funding formula, and our proposed formula from 2017-18 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/early-years-funding-changes-to-funding-for-3-and-4-year-olds

Pre-school Education

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the Government's strategy is for nursery schools.

Caroline Dinenage: Maintained nursery schools make a very important contribution to social mobility as a result of their being primarily based in deprived areas. That is why, as we introduce new funding arrangements in the early years, we are providing local authorities with supplementary funding of £55 milion a year for maintained nursery schools for at least two years to maintain their stability. This maintains their current funding, and is part of our record investment in childcare – £6 billion per year by 2020. We will work in partnership with providers and consult the sector, including on what happens after this period, in due course.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will increase funding to maintained nursery schools after 2017-18.

Caroline Dinenage: We are providing local authorities with supplementary funding of £55 million a year for at least two years in order to provide stability and maintain current funding levels for maintained nursery schools. We will work in partnership with providers, and consult the sector on what happens after this period, in due course. The wider changes to early years funding that we are also proposing will see a fairer allocation of funding to local authorities and to different types of provider, better matched to need. This is part of our record investment in childcare – £6 billion per year by 2020.

Free Schools

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which free schools have changed their name since opening.

Edward Timpson: Any school can change its name at any time. Schools are encouraged to notify the Department of any change in name and most do. However, some schools might not, for example, if the name change is very minor. Below is a list of free schools that have notified the Department of a name change since opening, and the change is judged to be more than minor:Current School NameAldborough Primary SchoolDixons Kings AcademyThe Linden AcademyThe Minerva AcademySolebay Primary - A Paradigm AcademyNishkam Primary School WolverhamptonThe Pinetree SchoolTech City CollegeBig Creative AcademyBeacon of Light SchoolWestclyst Community Primary SchoolBrook House Primary SchoolRoyal Greenwich Trust School

Department for Education: Visits Abroad

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what international visits (a) she and (b) Ministers in her Department have made since July 2016; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Caroline Dinenage: Details of ministerial international travel, including the purpose of the travel, are published in the Quarterly Returns on GOV.UK. Information about international travel that has taken place since July 2016 will be published in due course.

Education Funding Agency

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many written Financial Notices to Improve the Education Funding Agency has distributed to schools since 1 January 2016.

Edward Timpson: The Education Funding Agency has issued a total of 23 Financial Notices to Improve to academy trusts since 1 January 2016.

Pupil Premium

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much pupil premium funding has been received by schools in (a) North Swindon constituency, (b) Swindon and (c) England in each of the years since its inception.

Edward Timpson: Information on the amount of pupil premium funding is available in the final pupil premium allocations, which are published on the department’s website. Links to the data for each year since the pupil premium was introduced are provided below. The information is available by parliamentary constituency, local authority and nationally. 2016 to 2017: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2016-to-2017 - click on ‘Pupil premium final allocations 2016 to 2017 by local authority area and region in England’ 2015 to 2016: http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2015-to-2016-allocations#history 2014 to 2015: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2014-to-2015-final-allocations 2013 to 2014: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2013-to-2014-final-allocation-tables 2012 to 2013: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-funding-tables-2012-to-2013 2011 to 2012: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123124929/http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/settlement2012pupilpremium/a0070267/dsg-and-pupil-premium-allocations-for-2011-12

Social Services: Children

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations she has received from the National Union of Teachers on the effect of children's centre closures.

Caroline Dinenage: We have no record of having recently received representations from the National Union of Teachers on the effect of children’s centre closures.

Grammar Schools: Sex and Relationship Education

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 404 of the Education Act 1996, what her Department's policy is on the teaching of sex and relationships education in proposed new grammar schools.

Edward Timpson: Our plan is that the curriculum requirements that apply to existing grammar schools will apply to any proposed new grammar schools. The requirement under section 404 of the Education Act 1996 for schools to have a statement of their policy on the provision of sex education applies to maintained schools, and the requirement to teach sex education (under section 80 of the Education Act 1996) applies to maintained secondary schools only. Grammar schools operating in the maintained sector are required to teach sex education and must adhere to the requirement under section 404 of the Education Act 1996. Academies, including grammar schools which are academies, must teach a broad and balanced curriculum and in respect of sex education, they must – like maintained schools - have regard to the Secretary of State’s statutory Sex and Relationship Education guidance issued in 2000. The guidance stipulates that schools must have an up-to-date policy in relation to their sex and relationship education provision. The guidance can be access via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sex-and-relationship-education

Nurseries: Non-domestic Rates

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on forcing local authorities to offer flexible business rates for private nurseries.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to encourage local authorities to offer business rate exemptions to nurseries.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authorities have offered reduced business rates to private nurseries since the Minister for Childcare's speech at the launch of the NDNA's Annual Nursery Survey in January 2015.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authorities receive a 50 per cent discount from the public purse on the costs to them of reduced business rates since the Minister for Childcare's address at the launch of the NDNA Annual Nursery Survey in January 2015.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government does not collect data on particular types of premises that might have benefited from local discretionary relief. Central Government has given local authorities wide-ranging, discretionary powers to grant business rates discounts as they see fit – they are best placed to serve the needs of their community. All local authorities which grant a local discount will receive 50% of the cost from central Government funds. The Minister for Childcare wrote to all local authorities in November 2014 to encourage them to apply business rates relief to nurseries and reminded them that central Government will meet 50% of the costs involved. He also encouraged nurseries to follow up with their local authorities themselves. The Department for Communities and Local Government wrote to local authorities in January 2015, reinforcing this message. This letter is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/395333/BRIL_1__-_2015__-__General_-_14_Jan.pdf

Children in Care

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authority incurred the (a) highest and (b) lowest average weekly cost of placing a child in the care system in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Edward Timpson: Local authority funding for the provision of children’s services is provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government. However, local authorities are required to submit annual budget and outturn statements about their spending to the Secretary of State for Education. The most recent outturn figures can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/section-251-outturn-2014-to-2015-data The file named “S251 outturn 2014 to 2015: individual LA expenditure data” enables reported annual expenditure by each local authority to be viewed at an individual local authority level. Total local authority expenditure on looked after children is broken down across a number of areas including, for example, total expenditure on residential care, fostering services, and leaving care support services. Average total annual local authority expenditure per looked after child per week by authority can be approximated by using information on total annual expenditure and on the number of looked after children in each authority. These figures can be found in the Local Authority Interactive Tool (LAIT). This shows average weekly expenditure per child week for England as a whole and for each local authority. It can be found in the children’s service finance section, at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait

Apprentices

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeships were started by (a) former free school meals pupils and (b) pupils who were not formally free school meal pupils in the last three years.

Robert Halfon: Data on whether apprenticeships were started by former free school meals pupils or those who were not formerly free school meals pupils is not collected.

Ministry of Justice

Metals: Licensing

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what convictions have been secured against people for not displaying a copy of their scrap metal licence (a) at each site identified in the licence and (b) on any vehicle that was being used in the course of the dealer's business in each year since 2013.

Sir Oliver Heald: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts and offenders found guilty and sentenced at all courts for accepting cash payment for Scrap metal under section 6 of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, in England and Wales, from 2013 to 2015, can be viewed in table 1. Table 1: Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences under Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013(1), England and Wales, 2013 to 2015(2)(3) YearOffenceProsecutedFound guiltySentencedof whichFine  2013Make payment for scrap metal other than by cheque / electronic transfer - site manager--- - Make payment for scrap metal other than by cheque / electronic transfer when acting for scrap metal dealer--- - 2014Make payment for scrap metal other than by cheque / electronic transfer - site manager222 2 Make payment for scrap metal other than by cheque / electronic transfer when acting for scrap metal dealer322 2 2015   Make payment for scrap metal other than by cheque / electronic transfer - site manager--- - Make payment for scrap metal other than by cheque / electronic transfer when acting for scrap metal dealer111 1 '-' = Nil   (1) Includes Contrary to sections 12(1), (4) and (6) of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013. (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.   (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Convictions may exceed prosecutions in a given year because defendants who appear before both courts may be convicted at the Crown Court for a different offence to that for which they were originally proceeded against at magistrates’ court.   Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.  Ref: PQ 48545   The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts and offenders found guilty and sentenced at all courts for not displaying a copy of their scrap metal licence (a) at each site identified in the licence and (b) on any vehicle that was being used in the course of the dealer's business in England and Wales, from 2013 to 2015, can be viewed in table 2. Table 2: Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences under Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013(1), England and Wales, 2013 to 2015(2)(3)  YearOffenceProsecutedFound guiltySentencedof whichFine  2013Holder of a scrap metal dealers site licence fail to display a copy of the licence prominently in a public area--- - Holder of scrap metal dealers collector's licence fail to display copy of licence in business vehicle so it can be read--- - 2014Holder of a scrap metal dealers site licence fail to display a copy of the licence prominently in a public area--- - Holder of scrap metal dealers collector's licence fail to display copy of licence in business vehicle so it can be read955 3 2015Holder of a scrap metal dealers site licence fail to display a copy of the licence prominently in a public area111 1 Holder of scrap metal dealers collector's licence fail to display copy of licence in business vehicle so it can be read644 2 '-' = Nil   (1) Includes Contrary to sections 10(1),(2),(3),(4),(5)and (6) of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013.(2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.  (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Convictions may exceed prosecutions in a given year because defendants who appear before both courts may be convicted at the Crown Court for a different offence to that for which they were originally proceeded against at magistrates’ court.   Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.  Ref: PQ 48591

Metals: Theft

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been (a) charged and (b) convicted for accepting cash payment for scrap metal under section 6 of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 in each year since that Act came into force.

Sir Oliver Heald: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts and offenders found guilty and sentenced at all courts for accepting cash payment for Scrap metal under section 6 of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, in England and Wales, from 2013 to 2015, can be viewed in table 1. Table 1: Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences under Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013(1), England and Wales, 2013 to 2015(2)(3) YearOffenceProsecutedFound guiltySentencedof whichFine  2013Make payment for scrap metal other than by cheque / electronic transfer - site manager--- - Make payment for scrap metal other than by cheque / electronic transfer when acting for scrap metal dealer--- - 2014Make payment for scrap metal other than by cheque / electronic transfer - site manager222 2 Make payment for scrap metal other than by cheque / electronic transfer when acting for scrap metal dealer322 2 2015   Make payment for scrap metal other than by cheque / electronic transfer - site manager--- - Make payment for scrap metal other than by cheque / electronic transfer when acting for scrap metal dealer111 1 '-' = Nil   (1) Includes Contrary to sections 12(1), (4) and (6) of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013. (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.   (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Convictions may exceed prosecutions in a given year because defendants who appear before both courts may be convicted at the Crown Court for a different offence to that for which they were originally proceeded against at magistrates’ court.   Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.  Ref: PQ 48545   The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts and offenders found guilty and sentenced at all courts for not displaying a copy of their scrap metal licence (a) at each site identified in the licence and (b) on any vehicle that was being used in the course of the dealer's business in England and Wales, from 2013 to 2015, can be viewed in table 2. Table 2: Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences under Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013(1), England and Wales, 2013 to 2015(2)(3)  YearOffenceProsecutedFound guiltySentencedof whichFine  2013Holder of a scrap metal dealers site licence fail to display a copy of the licence prominently in a public area--- - Holder of scrap metal dealers collector's licence fail to display copy of licence in business vehicle so it can be read--- - 2014Holder of a scrap metal dealers site licence fail to display a copy of the licence prominently in a public area--- - Holder of scrap metal dealers collector's licence fail to display copy of licence in business vehicle so it can be read955 3 2015Holder of a scrap metal dealers site licence fail to display a copy of the licence prominently in a public area111 1 Holder of scrap metal dealers collector's licence fail to display copy of licence in business vehicle so it can be read644 2 '-' = Nil   (1) Includes Contrary to sections 10(1),(2),(3),(4),(5)and (6) of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013.(2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.  (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Convictions may exceed prosecutions in a given year because defendants who appear before both courts may be convicted at the Crown Court for a different offence to that for which they were originally proceeded against at magistrates’ court.   Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.  Ref: PQ 48591

Prisons: Emergency Calls

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many 999 calls were made over the last three calendar years from HM prisons.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Prime Minister

Rupert Murdoch

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Prime Minister, if she will publish minutes of her meeting with Rupert Murdoch in September 2016.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Prime Minister, on what date agreement was reached that she would meet Rupert Murdoch during her visit to New York in September 2016.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Prime Minister, whether any government Minister was present at her meeting with Rupert Murdoch held in September 2016.

Mrs Theresa May: Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations, including with newspaper and other media proprietors, editors and senior executives, are published on a quarterly basis and made available on the gov.uk website.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband: Greater London

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to provide each London borough council with the necessary provisions to ensure that all residents can access superfast broadband.

Matt Hancock: The Government is encouraging the commercial sector to extend coverage across cities. BT has announced £50 million of investment in new commercial coverage, much of which will be aimed at London, and Virgin Media has announced a demand led investment programme of £3 billion over the next few years. There are also many other active suppliers in London.

Football: Corruption

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Football Association on recent corruption scandals.

Tracey Crouch: Both the Secretary of State and I spoke to the FA following the recent allegations made by the Daily Telegraph, and they confirmed they are working across football to investigate. It is important that the FA demonstrates good governance of their sport, and that includes dealing effectively with those that look to tarnish its reputation. All the evidence presented to them must be investigated fully and the Government stands ready to assist in any way we can.

Football Association: Cost Effectiveness

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she made of the value gained for the public of Government funds given to the Football Association in each of the last five years.

Tracey Crouch: Football continues to be the nation’s most popular team sport, with over 1.5m more weekly participants than any other team sport. Public funding has gone into programmes delivered by the FA that sustain that interest and also that encourage more people from all ages and backgrounds to take part in the sport.Sport England has challenged the FA to deliver results for the public money it receives. In 2014, £1.6million was taken away after the FA failed to reverse a decline in the number of people regularly playing the sport. Since then, outdoor 5-a-side football has seen an increase in participation from 744,200 people per week in 2010 (APS4) to 795,700 in 2016 (APS10 Q2) showing changing customer demands which the FA must continue to respond to.

Football Association: Finance

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much public funding was given to the Football Association in each of the last five years.

Tracey Crouch: Since 2010, the Government has invested, via Sport England £57.3 million of National Lottery and Exchequer funding to the FA to help grow and sustain grassroots football participation in this country. That equates to £8,176,302m in 2010/11; £5,550,910m in 2011/12; £5,042,685 in 2012/13; £10,287,050m in 2013/14; £9,175,259m in 2014/15 and £9,345,964m over this last year.

Sports: Disability

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to increase the number of disabled people participating in sport.

Tracey Crouch: Government is committed to increasing opportunities for disabled people to get involved in sport and physical activity. Our sport strategy, 'Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation', places a much greater emphasis than before on encouraging under-represented groups, including disabled people, to take part in sport and physical activity. Sport England's new strategy,Towards an Active Nation, which was published in May, sets out how it intends to deliver against the government’s sport strategy. It will continue to support people who already play sport but it also has a specific focus on those groups who are less likely to take part in sport and physical activity, including disabled people. Between 2011 and 2017, Sport England is investing over £170 million to get more disabled people playing sport.

Digital Technology: Disability

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of the recommendations on improving digital accessibility for disabled people of the Extra Costs Commission, initiated by the disability charity Scope in July 2014.

Matt Hancock: Government is committed to increasing digital inclusion for all, and are taking steps to increase web accessibility for disabled people. The DCMS-led Council for Digital Inclusion includes members who represent the interests of disabled people. The Government has also published guidance on Gov.UK on making digital services accessible for Government departments, local authorities and anyone else who wants to prepare accessible communications.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on benefit sanctions of the report by the Children's Society, The cost of being care free, published in June 2016.

Damian Hinds: We are grateful for this report focusing on care leavers from The Children’s Society, and for their recommendations, which we will consider as part of our continuous review of sanctions policy to ensure the process functions effectively and fairly.I can assure you that where we identify an issue, we act to put it right.For care leavers, as with other claimants, the sanctions process encourages them to prepare for or find work, by meeting their agreed commitments based on their individual circumstances and capabilities, as set out in their Claimant Commitment. This includes both mandatory and voluntary actions care leavers have agreed to undertake. The consequences and implications of not meeting any agreed requirement are clearly set out and explained to them.A decision to apply a sanction is not taken lightly, and claimants are given the opportunity to provide a good reason for not complying before the decision is made.Our primary goal is to help care leavers get into work wherever possible and they receive tailored, locally-appropriate employment support at the earliest opportunity to achieve this.Care leavers, like all claimants, take ownership of planning how they will meet their requirements and ultimately secure employment. They will be supported by their Work Coach who will assist them in meeting their requirements through providing encouragement and direction, using a range of communication methods. Work Coaches support all claimants who require additional support to ensure that they fully understand what they have been asked to do to enable them to access DWP benefits and use our services.

Migrant Workers: Pay

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he made an estimate of the number of foreign companies employing migrant workers in the UK who have sued their employees for overpayment of wages upon their return to their country of origin.

Damian Hinds: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 20 October 2016.The correct answer should have been:

DWP has received no representations on migrant employees in the UK being forced to repay funds paid to them as a result of shortfalls in wages to their employers upon return to their country of origin.DWP has not made an estimate of the number of foreign companies employing migrant workers in the UK who have sued their employees for overpayment of wages upon their return to their country of origin.

Damian Hinds: DWP has received no representations on migrant employees in the UK being forced to repay funds paid to them as a result of shortfalls in wages to their employers upon return to their country of origin.DWP has not made an estimate of the number of foreign companies employing migrant workers in the UK who have sued their employees for overpayment of wages upon their return to their country of origin.

Employment and Support Allowance: South West Bedfordshire

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance claimants there were in South West Bedfordshire constituency (a) on the latest date for which figures are available and (b) in each year since 2010.

Penny Mordaunt: The information available for the number of Employment and Support Allowance claimants, by Parliamentary Constituency, is published and can be found at:https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.aspGuidance for users is available at:https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

British Steel: Pensions

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of whether the conditions have been met for the Pensions Regulator to issue a contribution notice to Tata Steel in relation to the British Steel Pension Scheme.

Richard Harrington: The assessment of whether it is appropriate to issue contribution notices is the responsibility of the Independent Pensions Regulator.

Employment and Support Allowance

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Green Paper on the devolution of employment and support allowance WRAG and targeted support for claimants will be published.

Penny Mordaunt: We will publish a Green Paper later this year.

Ministry of Defence

Army: Disciplinary Proceedings

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to maintain discipline in the Army after changing the rules on physical punishment.

Mark Lancaster: Physical punishment has not been permitted in the Army for many decades, and the use of unofficial punishments and sanctions is banned. Maintaining and improving discipline and behaviour is primarily achieved through education and the promotion of positive values and standards.Lawful and authorised punishments are contained within the Armed Forces Act, as reviewed by Parliament in 2016, and other minor sanctions in the publications on Administrative Action which were revised this year. Skills training that is relevant to the failing, including appropriate physical training, may be included if the Serviceman's failing warrants it. There are strict rules relating to the award of extra drill lessons which may only be awarded as a sanction to address failings in drill. Periods of physical training may be given as a sanction for soldiers who display a lack of physical effort or attention to their duties, and must be conducted by an appropriately qualified instructor and supervised by a non-commissioned officer.

Russia: Military Exercises

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with the government of Russia on Russian military drills in the North Sea in October 2016.

Mike Penning: The Department has held no formal discussions with the Government of the Russian Federation with regard to Russian military drills in the North Sea in October. All NATO Allies have a collective responsibility to monitor the path and activity of non-NATO ships and aircraft passing through NATO areas of responsibility. The UK fully upholds its commitments in this regard and will act accordingly. Russia is aware of these arrangements. We expect Russian activity to occur in international waters and airspace, and in accordance with international rules.

Syria: Military Intervention

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Government Minister authorised UK participation in airstrikes south of Deir ez-Zour on 17 September 2016.

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what legal advice his Department received prior to the airstrike south of Deir ez-Zour on 17 September 2016.

Mike Penning: Government Ministers did not authorise UK participation in the 17 September airstrikes. The UK does not deliberately use air power against the Armed Forces of the Syrian Government. A coalition investigation into these airstrikes, which inadvertently targeted Syrian Government ground forces, is ongoing. It would be inappropriate to comment before that process is completed.

Trident Submarines: Iron and Steel

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2016 to Question 48618, how many UK bids were received for the supply of steel for that part of the Successor submarine manufacture.

Harriett Baldwin: The management of the steel procurement process for the Successor programme is the responsibility of the Prime Contractor, BAE Systems. One UK firm participated in the tendering process for the submarine pressure hull steel, but did not make a viable proposal.Other stages of construction will include grades of steel manufactured by British suppliers and we encourage them to take the opportunity to bid.85% of BAE System's supply chain for the new submarines is based in the UK.

Defence Equipment and Support: Staff

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Defence Equipment and Support employees are over the age of 45.

Harriett Baldwin: Defence Equipment and Support currently employs 5,497 civilian staff and 604 military personnel over the age of 45.

Ministry of Defence: Staff

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) senior officials and (b) Ministers of his Department are over the age of 45.

Harriett Baldwin: A total of 235 of the 315 Senior Civil Servants (SCS), including those in equivalent posts and SCS personnel in DE&S Trading Entity employed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) were aged 46 or above as at 1 July 2016. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5. All MOD Ministers are over the age of 45.

Islamic State: British Nationals Abroad

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral contribution of 24 May 2016, Official Report, column 422, on the number of British citizens who have travelled abroad to support Daesh, what progress his Department has made in obtaining that data; and if he will place that data in the Library.

Sir Michael Fallon: In my letter to the hon. Member on 6 June, I set out that approximately 850 UK-linked individuals of national security concern have travelled to take part in the Syrian conflict. My understanding from the Home Office is that the position has not changed.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons his Department does not permit people living in service family accommodation to have a water meter installed.

Mark Lancaster: There is no requirement to install water meters in Service Family Accommodation. Water costs are not billed seperately as they are included in Service personnel's daily accommodation charges.

Home Office

International Corruption Unit

Byron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many investigations the International Corruption Unit (ICU) at the National Crime Agency (NCA) inherited from other agencies when it was first established; and how many new investigations the ICU at the NCA has started since it was established.

Mr Ben Wallace: The International Corruption Unit (ICU) at the National Crime Agency (NCA) inherited 23 investigations. Since it was first established it has commenced 24 new investigations. (Figures have been provided by the NCA).

Intelligence and Security Committee

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions Ministers in her Department have delayed providing information to the Intelligence and Security Committee in order to make a determination as to whether to share that information as set out in Schedule 1 to the Justice and Security Act 2013.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions Ministers in her Department have declined to disclose information to the Intelligence and Security Committee under Schedule 1 to the Justice and Security Act 2013; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Home Office is unable to find any record of having declined to disclose information to the Intelligence and Security Committee under Schedule 1 of the Justice and Security Act 2013. The Home Office is unable to find any record of having delayed providing information to the Intelligence and Security Committee in order to make a determination as to whether to share that information, as set out in Schedule 1 of the Justice and Security Act 2013.

Asylum: Vetting

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 1.2.3.2 of Schedule 2 to the Compass contract for the accommodation of asylum seekers, if she will publish a copy of the contractor's arrangements for ensuring that its staff, volunteers and sub-contractors who are likely to have direct contact with service users are subject to criminal records bureau and disclose checks prior to any such contracts for each such contractor in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Holding answer received on 17 October 2016



The provisions for Personnel and Employment arrangements are detailed in Clause 9 of the Contract Terms and Conditions. It is the responsibility of the COMPASS providers to ensure that all staff recruitment meets these required contractual standards.

Refugees: Abuse

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of investigations conducted into allegations by service users that they have suffered abuse or harassment from Compass asylum accommodation contractor or sub-contractor staff; in what year each such investigation was carried out; and what the outcome of each such investigation was.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Home Office and our accommodation providers take complaints extremely seriously and have robust procedures in place to investigate and resolve when specific information is received.Service Users are encouraged to report issues to their COMPASS provider in the first instance for them to resolve, however Service Users or their representatives can also raise complaints or concerns directly to the Home Office via the contract compliance teams who inspect properties, or through the Home Office's Asylum Customer Contact Centre.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her oral contribution of 10 October 2016, Official Report, column 62, how an EU citizen demonstrates their having lived in the UK for five or more years; how citizenship is claimed after six years; which Department will be responsible for confirming the right to (a) remain and (b) citizenship; what certification of these rights will be provided; what estimate she has made of the cost to the applicant of that process; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Holding answer received on 17 October 2016



We wish to guarantee the rights of EU citizens already in the UK, and the only circumstances in which this would not be possible would be if British citizens’ rights in EU Member States were not protected on a reciprocal basis.The UK is currently a member of the EU, and remains one until Article 50 negotiations have concluded. This means EU law continues to apply. Although not mandatory, after 5 years of continuous and lawful residence in the UK, EU citizens may apply for a document to confirm their EU right to reside in the UK permanently. Further information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-a-document-certifying-permanent-residence-or-permanent-residence-card-form-eea-prIn terms of British citizenship, under UK law, EU nationals who are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen can apply for naturalisation as a British citizen once they have obtained permanent residence in the UK.Other EU nationals may apply for a certificate of naturalisation once they have resided in the UK for six years. This because they need to show they have completed 12 months of residence in the UK free of immigration time restrictions once they have acquired a permanent right to reside.Further guidance on the application process to naturalise as a British citizen is available via the link below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-naturalise-as-a-british-citizen-form-an

Animal Experiments: Licensing

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for (a) personal, (b) project and (c) establishment licences for scientific research on animals have been granted in each year since 2010.

Mr Ben Wallace: The numbers of personal, project and establishment licences granted by the Home Office for scientific research on animals are made public every year in the Annual Report of the licensing body, the Home Office Animals in Science Regulation Unit. The Annual Reports can be obtained online at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/research-and-testing-using-animals#publications The table below sets out the figures for each year since 2010. Figures for 2015 will be published in due course. YearEstablishmentProjectPersonal201045152664201125642550201236262639201336042770201464742949

Asylum: Children

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications her Department has received from (a) children in Europe who potentially qualify for resettlement to the UK under the Dublin III convention and (b) children currently in Europe who potentially qualify for resettlement to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 who do not have a family member in the UK since 2 July 2016; and what the (i) date and (ii) outcome of those applications were.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Holding answer received on 18 October 2016



The Dublin Regulation is the mechanism to transfer individuals to other Member States for consideration of their asylum claim, rather than a mechanism for resettlement. Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, regularly publishes Member State figures, which you can find via the link below:http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Dublin_statistics_on_countries_responsible_for_asylum_applicationSince the start of the year, over 140 cases of unaccompanied children in Europe have been accepted for transfer to the UK under the Dublin Regulation, of which 110 have been transferred.Between 12 May and 1 October 2016 over 50 children who meet the criteria under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 have been accepted for transfer. Over 35 have already been transferred to the UK and many more in the train.We continue to work with the Greek, French and Italian governments as well as the UNHCR and NGOs to identify and process cases who may qualify for transfer to the UK under the Immigration Act 2016. Many cases are under active consideration as part of this process.

Cedars Pre-departure Accommodation Facility: Children

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement WS114 of 21 July 2016, what new arrangements she plans to put in place at Tinsley House to safeguard and promote the welfare of children who previously have been detained in Cedars.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Holding answer received on 18 October 2016



The family returns process, which was set up in 2011 as a key part of ending the routine detention of children, remains in place and is unchanged. The pre-departure accommodation remains an essential component of the family returns process.The new pre-departure accommodation at Tinsley House will, as now, be used only as a last resort after all voluntary or other returns options have failed. It will operate under published operating standards and the distinct statutory framework established by the Immigration Act 2014, including the requirement for the Independent Family Returns Panel to be consulted in advance where it is proposed that a family is to be held there. The same statutory limits governing duration of stay will remain in force.On 21 September 2016 the Home Office launched a tender exercise in line with Government procurement policy to identify the most suitable organisation to provide welfare services to families while they are accommodated at the new pre-departure accommodation.

Immigrants: Detainees

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what monitoring processes are in place to oversee the new Adults at Risk guidelines.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to monitor or re-evaluate the mechanisms in place under the new Adults at Risk guidelines.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the new Adults at Risk guidelines on the number of Rule 35 (3) reports.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Ongoing consideration is being given to arrangements for measuring the impact of the adults at risk policy and other initiatives aimed at improving the safeguarding of vulnerable people in immigration detention.

Immigrants: Detainees

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consultation process took place before the implementation of the new Adults at Risk guidelines.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Stephen Shaw, a former Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, was commissioned by the then Home Secretary in February 2015 to undertake a review of the welfare in immigration detention of vulnerable people.Mr Shaw carried out a comprehensive consultation in preparing his report of his review and the adults at risk policy, which came into force on 12 September 2016, forms part of the Government’s response to Mr Shaw’s review.When the draft policy was published on 26 May 2016, the Government wrote to a wide range of relevant non-Governmental organisations and offered them the opportunity to discuss it. Subsequently Home Office officials held meetings with a number of interested organisations, and received written representations, and the views of these organisations were taken into account as the policy was developed further in advance of its implementation.

Immigrants: Detainees

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Rule 35 (1), Rule 35 (2) and Rule 35 (3) reports were submitted in the (a) first, (b) second and (c) third quarters of 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Management information for Rule 35 reports is published as part of Home Office Transparency data.Information for Quarters 1 and 2 2016 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/search?q=immigration+enforcement+tranparenacy+dataData is not yet available for Quarter 3 2016.

Overseas Students

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will request that the Migration Advisory Committee undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the economic contribution that net student migration makes to the UK economy.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government recognises that international students make an important contribution during their time here, and they help make our education system one of the best in the world. The UK remains the second most popular destination in the world for international higher education students.We continue to be committed to ensuring our top universities can attract the best students from around the world. Visa applications from international students to study at British universities are up by 14% since 2010, and the grant rate for Tier 4 (General) visa applications has increased every year since 2010, with 94 per cent of such applications granted in 2015.There are no current plans to commission the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to undertake an assessment of the economic impact of international students, but we keep the MAC’s work plan under review.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 48064, on child sexual abuse independent panel inquiry, how much public money the Government has allocated to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse to date.

Sarah Newton: Holding answer received on 21 October 2016



On 12 March 2015 the former Home Secretary established the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse under the Inquiries Act 2005. The Inquiry is independent of the Government and is responsible for the management of its own budget and the publication of its own financial reports.The most recent financial report was published by the Inquiry on 15 September 2016. It is available at https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/808/view/2015-2016-Inquiry-Financial-Report.pdf

Rape: Trials

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the effect on the preparedness of complainants to report rape of the use of complainants' previous sexual history in evidence in rape trials; and if she will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: Holding answer received on 21 October 2016



This Government has made protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims and survivors of sexual violence a key priority.The most recent Crime Statistics published on 20 October by the Office for National Statistics show that police recorded rape increased by 16% (to 36,438) in the year ending July 2016 compared with the previous year. The ONS state that the increases are believed to result from an improvement in the recording of sexual offences by the police and an increased willingness of victims to come forward and report these crimes to the police. In addition, the Crown Prosecution Service annual Violence Against Women and Girls Report, published in September 2016, shows the highest volumes ever recorded of charged defendants, prosecutions and convictions for rape.We welcome the fact that more victims of rape are coming forward and reporting these crimes to the police. Victims must have the confidence to report these crimes, knowing that they will get the support they need to go through the criminal justice process and that everything will be done to bring offenders to justice.Section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 places a statutory restriction on introduction of evidence and questioning of complainants about their sexual history. Section 41 was introduced to protect complainants in proceedings for sexual offences, introducing a presumption that such evidence and questioning will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances.

Visas: Overseas Students

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 48003, if she will publish the visa refusal rates for (a) Cambridge University, (b) Oxford University, (c) Bath University, (d) Imperial College London, (e) Edinburgh University, (f) Glasgow University, (g) University of St Andrews and (h) Aberdeen University in each year since 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Musicians: Entry Clearances

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on a US neo-Nazi music band entering the UK to perform concerts.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Holding answer received on 21 October 2016



The Home Office has received representations from the Scottish Government, two MPs and a petition organised by Hope Not Hate. We have also received correspondence from members of the public.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Mr David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will place in the Library the correspondence she had with Judge Goddard asking for her to appear before the Home Office committee after her resignation as chair of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Children

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the process is by which unaccompanied child refugees are considered for transfer to the UK from refugee camps in Europe; and what the verification process is for confirming the identity and date of birth of an unaccompanied child refugee.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Holding answer received on 21 October 2016



Under the Dublin Regulation, where an unaccompanied asylum seeking child has close family members in the UK, another Member State may make a transfer request for the UK to consider their asylum claim, which is then considered and if verified, accepted by the UK. In addition, we are working closely with the French, Greek and Italian authorities as well as UNHCR, Unicef and NGOs to identify unaccompanied refugee children who do not have family in the UK but who may qualify for transfer under the provisions of S67 of the Immigration Act 2016.All individuals being considered for transfer will be assessed for age. Where credible and clear documentary evidence of age is not available, criteria including physical appearance and demeanour are used as part of the interview process to assess age. Once in the UK there is also the option of requesting a further local authority age assessment, which must be case law compliant and approved by two social workers. Basic security checks are conducted on all individuals prior to arrival, with further verification carried out once in the UK.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what dates meetings were held between Dame Lowell Goddard and officials of her Department between the date of her appointment as chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and the date of her departure from that position.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what dates she held meetings with Dame Lowell Goddard between her appointment as chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and her decision to resign from that position; and which other people were present at each such meeting.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HM Treasury

Individual Savings Accounts

Richard Graham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many financial institutions offer ISAs; and what the total value is of monetary assets in ISAs.

Jane Ellison: 515 financial institutions are approved to offer cash, stocks & shares and Innovative Finance ISAs. At the end of 2015-16 the total market value of Adult ISAs stood at £518 billion. This figure includes holdings in both cash and stocks & shares ISAs.

Bahamas: Taxation

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with counterparts in the Bahamas on improving tax transparency since the leak of internal files from the company register in that country.

Jane Ellison: The UK has led the way on tax transparency by developing a global standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information with our international partners. This will see more than 100 jurisdictions exchanging data on offshore accounts with each other, with the Bahamas first exchanging in 2018. The UK has also taken a lead on improving the international accessibility of beneficial ownership information through the launch of a new initiative in April 2016 for automatic exchange of such information between countries on a global basis. Almost 50 jurisdictions have made a political commitment to this initiative to date and the Treasury continues to engage with relevant financial centres.

Individual Savings Accounts

Richard Graham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the value of assets that will be put into Lifetime ISAs in (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20.

Jane Ellison: Estimates of the cost to the Exchequer of paying out the bonus to Lifetime ISA accounts are set out in the Impact Assessment for the Savings (Government Contributions) Bill. This can be found online at www.gov.uk/government/collections/the‐savings‐government‐contributions-bill There will be a 25% bonus on all contributions to a Lifetime ISA up to the £4,000 limit. These estimates therefore reflect the Government’s estimates of the contributions to a Lifetime ISA eligible for a bonus: 2017-18: £0.7 billion2018-19: £1.4 billion2019-20: £2.4 billion

Inheritance Tax: Tax Avoidance

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to reduce inheritance tax avoidance.

Jane Ellison: The Government is committed to tacking all forms of tax avoidance, including inheritance tax (IHT) avoidance, and has introduced a range of targeted changes to address inappropriate use of the current IHT rules. These include measures to stop IHT avoidance by the use of trusts and widening the IHT Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes regulations.

Mining: Taxation

Pauline Latham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the annual UK tax revenue was paid by employees of mining companies listed on the London Stock Exchange in each year since 1995.

Jane Ellison: National statistics of the PAYE tax deducted from pay, by industry (Table 2.10) is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/pay-as-you-earn-tax-deducted-from-pay-by-industry. Information on employees of mining companies listed on the London Stock Exchange could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Mining: Taxation

Pauline Latham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the annual UK tax revenue was paid by mining companies listed on the London Stock Exchange in each year since 1990.

Jane Ellison: There are no taxes levied specifically on mining companies. This activity is subject to the UK's general taxation regimes such as VAT and Corporation Tax. However it is not possible to say how much revenue these taxes raise from mining companies, as the number of companies involved is below the Government’s threshold for disclosing tax liabilities.

Protective Clothing: VAT

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reduce the rate of VAT on motorcycle safety clothing.

Jane Ellison: VAT is a broad based tax on consumption and the standard rate applies to most goods and services. Motorcycle helmets that comply with the appropriate British Standard or UNECE Regulation are zero-rated for VAT.

Mining: Income

Pauline Latham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of GDP the UK mining industry contributed in (a) 1995, (b) 2005 and (c) 2015.

Simon Kirby: Data from the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that mining made up 0.3% of GVA in 2015, 0.4% in 2005 and 0.5% in 1997. Data for 1995 is available but not perfectly comparable to the post-1997 data. This shows that mining & quarrying made up 0.5% of GVA in 1995.

Global Restructuring Group

Jo Churchill: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to investigate reports of misconduct by the Global Restructuring Group of the Royal Bank of Scotland relating to small business finance in dash for cash claims made against that bank since 2008.

Simon Kirby: HM Treasury has no plans to investigate these reports. This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority, which is undertaking a review.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: EU Grants and Loans

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions officials of his Department have had with local enterprise partnerships on future funding from the Government for new projects after the projects that are funded by European Structural and Investment Funds are completed.

Mr David Gauke: The government has provided a guarantee for all European Structural and Investment Fund projects signed before the Autumn Statement. The government has also provided a guarantee for all projects signed after the Autumn Statement and before the UK’s departure from the European Union, if they provide good value for money and are in line with domestic strategic priorities. Over the coming months, departments will work with stakeholders, including Local Enterprise Partnerships, to review all EU funding schemes. This will ensure appropriate investor certainty.

EU Grants and Loans

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Statement of 13 August 2016 on EU funding beyond the date the UK leaves the EU, what estimate he has made of the cost to the Government of funding the completion of projects previously funded by European structural and investment funds.

Mr David Gauke: In response to uncertainty, the Treasury has provided a guarantee for multi-year funds that may carry over after we have exited the EU. However, it is the Government’s view that the EU should meet its obligations and fund the projects that we enter into while we remain a member.

Connaught Income Series 1 Fund

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that potential remedies for people affected by the collapse of the Connaught Income Services 1 Fund are not ruled unattainable as a result of the time taken by the Financial Conduct Authority to conclude its investigation into that matter.

Simon Kirby: This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA is an independent non-governmental body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry within the framework of statutory objectives and duties agreed by Parliament. Although the Treasury is responsible for the legal framework, it has strictly limited powers in relation to the FCA. This question has been passed on to the FCA. They will reply directly to the Honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Affordable Housing: EU Grants and Loans

John Healey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what contingency plans his Department had in place before the EU Referendum for loss of European Investment Bank finance for affordable homes; and if he will place a copy of such plans in the Library.

John Healey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the UK's vote to leave the EU on future funding for housing from the European Investment Bank.

John Healey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the European Investment Bank on future funding for affordable housing.

Mr David Gauke: The UK remains a full member of the European Union and it retains all of the rights, obligations and benefits that membership brings. The EIB continues to lend to UK projects and a number of UK project financing deals have been approved and signed since the referendum result. The long-term relationship between the UK and the EIB will need to be resolved as part of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the UK Governor of the European Investment Bank and continues to fulfil his governance duties. The Chancellor continues to meet his European counterparts on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues.The Government is committed to social housing and the Spending Review announced that the government will invest over £8 billion in housing over the next five years to deliver 400,000 affordable homes.

Financial Services: UK Withdrawal from EU

Mrs Theresa Villiers: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Government's policy is on transitional arrangements for financial service providers to minimise disruption to financial markets during and after the process of the UK leaving the EU.

Simon Kirby: The Government is working to deliver the best possible exit from the European Union. As the Prime Minister has said, we will not give a running commentary on the negotiations or our position.

Financial Institutions: Insolvency

Phil Boswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount of money lost by UK investors as a result of Providence Bonds and Providence Bonds II being placed in administration in September 2016.

Simon Kirby: The government does not hold this information.

Financial Institutions: Insolvency

Phil Boswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what communication has taken place between the UK Financial Ombudsman Service, the Bank of England and the Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman in relation to protection for investors in Providence Bonds and Providence Bonds II.

Simon Kirby: The government is unable to comment on the communications of external bodies.

Investment: Protection

Phil Boswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to increase financial protection for investors within the UK who invest in mini-bonds.

Phil Boswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the level of financial protection available to investors in mini-bonds not covered under the financial services compensation scheme.

Simon Kirby: The government is committed to regulating only where there is a clear case for doing so, in order to avoid putting additional costs on lenders that would ultimately lead to higher costs for businesses and consumers. The marketing and promotion of mini-bonds is subject to financial promotion restrictions set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA). Firms that fail to meet any of these requirements may be subject to enforcement action by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme

Andrew Gwynne: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the difference between the amount raised from the gift aid small donations scheme and the amount estimated to have been raised from that scheme by the second half of 2016 at its introduction.

Jane Ellison: The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme was introduced to allow charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs to claim a Gift Aid style top-up payment when it is not practical or feasible to collect a Gift Aid declaration. It was estimated to cost the Exchequer £105 million for the tax year 2015-16. The actual cost was £26 million. Although claims have been lower than anticipated, this is still a relatively new scheme, and continues to achieve year on year increases in the number of charities claiming. The Government wants as many charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs as possible to benefit from the scheme, which is why it has introduced the Small Charitable Donations and Childcare Payments Bill. This will remove a number of the eligibility requirements making it much simpler and easier particularly for smaller and new charities to claim.

Concentrix

Diana Johnson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much additional funding has been made available by HM Revenue and Customs to deal with the issues identified with Concentrix's handling of the tax credits checking contract.

Jane Ellison: Concentrix has a fixed contract with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the terms of which are available here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/85d1b730-5e4e-4be8-ae4c-3ac1f359afc7. HMRC only makes additional payments for amendment to claims which are correct. HMRC is operating within its funding allocation for this contract but has temporarily redeployed existing staff to resolve outstanding cases. HMRC does not hold specific information relating to the cost to issue letters referenced in the Answer to Question 44746 as these costs were borne by Concentrix. Claimants are given 30 days to provide the information requested in the letter. If after 30 days there has been no contact, tax credits payments are either suspended or reduced. As stated in the oral contribution of 14 September 2016, Official Report, column 914, once all of the information is received and the facts of the case have been established, payments should be made within 4 working days. And, to date, HMRC are issuing payments to achieve this timeframe. HMRC is currently focused on resolving the outstanding cases but will be preparing analysis, which will be made available in due course.

Concentrix: Finance

Diana Johnson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when in the tax credits checking process Concentrix received payment for changing tax credit awards in a way which was initially thought to be correct.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs pay Concentrix within 25 working days of receipt of a valid and undisputed invoice.The contract provides for a commission payment of an initial invoice value, with a subsequent quarterly reconciliation mechanism which takes into account supplier performance via specific Quality Performance Indicators and Key Performance indicators.These are linked to a defined service credit regime which includes accuracy of decisions. Payment to Concentrix is reduced accordingly in line with the service credit regime should they fail to meet this target level of performance.

Concentrix: Contracts

Diana Johnson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to re-tender the contract for tax credit checks to another private company after the Concentrix contract ends or return the service to the public sector; and what the cost to the public purse was of the tendering process that awarded Concentrix that contract.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs is not looking at another procurement exercise for tax credits compliance checks at this time. It is not possible to isolate the cost of the procurement exercise that awarded the contract to Concentrix – existing internal resources and associated overheads were utilised in the procurement process.

Concentrix: Finance

Diana Johnson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been paid to Concentrix for revising tax credit offers in a way which was initially thought to be correct; and if any of that amount can be subsequently recovered should those decisions be successfully appealed.

Jane Ellison: As at 17th October, payments made to Concentrix, in line with contracted charging and payment mechanisms, to date total £15,495,971 plus VAT.  HM Revenue and Customs pays Concentrix within 25 working days of receipt of a valid and undisputed invoice. The contract provides for a commission payment of an initial invoice value, with a subsequent quarterly reconciliation mechanism which takes into account supplier performance via specific Quality Performance Indicators and Key Performance indicators. Payment to Concentrix is reduced accordingly in line with the contract should they fail to meet performance targets. The contract also provides for commission payments to be further corrected should savings, which have previously been reported by Concentrix, be adjusted following a successful appeal by a customer.

Individual Savings Accounts

Richard Graham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for how long his Department plans that the Lifetime ISA will be on offer.

Jane Ellison: The Lifetime ISA will be available from April 2017. This is a long-term savings product and there will be no limit on how long people are able to hold funds in a Lifetime ISA for. The Government intends this to be a long-term reform and has no plans to limit the time that Lifetime ISAs will be available.

EU Internal Trade

Grant Shapps: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will assess the merits of establishing a negotiating bloc with other financial centres to conclude an extra-EU deal on financial services' tariff-free access to the single market.

Simon Kirby: The Treasury places a high priority on getting the right arrangements for the financial services sector. Two key objectives will be to secure the greatest degree of access possible to European markets for our businesses and to continue to exploit opportunities with other parts of the world to deepen our regulatory dialogue and increase trade and investment. The UK’s specific long-term financial services trading relationships with both EU and non-EU will be subject to future discussions and negotiations with each of these parties.

Department of Health: Public Expenditure

Justin Madders: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will increase the level of funding made available to the Department of Health in the 2016 Autumn Statement to the level requested by the Chief Executive of NHS England.

Mr David Gauke: The Spending Review last year set out clear spending plans for the rest of the Parliament. The NHS will receive an additional £10 billion per annum more in real terms by 2020-21 than in 2014-15 which is £2bn more than what the NHS asked for. The Government is committed to delivering those plans.

Widening Access Fund

Catherine West: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications HM Revenue and Customs has processed under the NHS Widening Access Training Scheme for each year in which that Scheme has been active.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs only hold records of the number of NHS applications under the widening access fund for the tax year 2013/14 onwards. As at 19 October a total of 16,762 applications have been processed as follows: YearNumber of applications2013/142532014/151,1162015/164,1752016/1711,218

Revenue and Customs: Debt Collection

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times HM Revenue and Customs has used the direct recovery of debts power; and what estimate he has made of the average sum so recovered.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Direct Recovery of Debt (DRD) power came into force in November 2015. So far this year, following visits by HMRC staff to taxpayers at their homes/offices as part of the DRD process, £20m in unpaid tax has been collected from those with the means to pay without actually needing to exercise the full DRD power, as this is a last resort. As part of this process, the need to deduct directly from a debtors bank account has taken place twice, with the average sum recovered being £39,246.

Financial Services: Internet

Chi Onwurah: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the implications of online and mobile applications which require automated access to a user's banking details for (a) accessibility of banking, (b) digital inclusion, (c) users' banking security and (d) consumer rights.

Simon Kirby: The government is committed to increasing competition in banking to improve outcomes for consumers. This includes establishing a competitive and innovative environment where banks deliver greater choice and value to their customers. A key element of this vision is ensuring the UK remains the world-leader for financial technology (FinTech). The Competition and Markets Authority recognised the potential of FinTech and open banking in its retail banking market investigation by requiring the nine largest UK banks to develop and adopt an open banking standard for application programming interfaces (APIs) to allow access to customer account information as set out in the revised Payment Services Directive (PSDII) which comes into force in January 2018. This will deliver a common standard for technology that allows the sharing of bank data, allowing authorised third parties to access information such as customer banking details and usage, prices and service quality. Harnessing the potential of open banking means that customers will be able to more easily access high quality, low cost banking services, and improve digital engagement with financial services by helping customers better understand where they could get a better deal. PSDII will set out requirements for enhanced security and consumer protections for online and mobile applications accessing users’ banking details from January 2018. The government will be consulting on the transposition of this directive shortly.

Local Partnerships

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 48030, if he will place in the Library a copy of the business model and remit of Local Partnerships LLP.

Mr David Gauke: Information on Local Partnerships LLP is already available in the public domain with Companies House, including the full annual accounts. There is also further information on their work on the Local Partnerships website. https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/OC346845/filing-historyhttp://localpartnerships.org.uk/about/

Sterling

Mr Peter Bone: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the change in the value of the pound on the negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Simon Kirby: The UK has an inflation target, not an exchange rate target, and the Government does not express a view on the level of the exchange rate. Instead, the exchange rate is allowed to adjust flexibly in response to economic conditions and movements in sterling are determined by market forces. The UK economy is fundamentally strong and is well-placed to deal with the challenges, and take advantage of the opportunities, that lie ahead. HM Government is not giving a running commentary on our exit negotiations.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Companies: EU Law

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how his Department plans to seek the opinion of British companies in the consideration of the domestication of EU regulations after the UK has left the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government is working closely with business and other stakeholders to consider the options for reform after the UK has left the EU, including the domestication of EU regulations. The Government will also bring forward legislation in the next session that, when enacted, will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 on the day we leave the EU. This ‘Great Repeal Bill’ will end the authority of EU law and return power to the UK. The Bill will transpose current EU law into domestic law, while allowing for amendments to take account of the future negotiated UK-EU relationship.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Aviation

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, to which destinations (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have taken flights as part of their official duties since his Department was established.

Mr David Jones: The Government publishes information about flights and other expenses incurred on Ministerial and senior official overseas trips on a quarterly basis.

Higher Education

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he plans to take to consult representatives of the higher education sector as part of his Department's preparations for the negotiations on the UK exiting the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Department for Exiting the EU has engaged with a number of higher education institutions and groups including Universities UK. Over the next few months the department will continue to engage with key stakeholders in business and civil society, including universities, through a series of roundtables, bi-laterals and visits across the UK.We have been clear that we want to create an environment in which the UK as a whole can continue to be a world leader in research, science and the tertiary education sector more broadly.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Staff

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff in his Department are working on the Great Repeal Bill; and how many staff in his Department he expects to be working on that Bill by the time of its Second Reading.

Mr David Jones: The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 250 staff plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels. This includes teams working on the Great Repeal Bill, and the Department is growing rapidly.

Department for International Trade

Arms Trade: Export Controls

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many (a) companies and (b) organisations currently hold strategic export control licences.

Mark Garnier: The number of businesses holding a strategic export licence varies throughout the day, every day and therefore cannot be answered accurately. The number of applications made over the last 12 months (1 October 2015 – 30 September 2016) is: 18,275 Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) and 595 Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs). The number of licences granted over the same period is 13,782 SIELs and 314 OIELs. The management information provided for licences granted contains some data that has not yet been published, nor quality assured to the same standards as Official Statistics. Licences may, for example, be amended by the time the data is published as Official Statistics. The Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) on export licences granted and refused on GOV.UK.

Overseas Trade

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Argentina, (b) Indonesia, (c) Saudi Arabia and (d) Turkey on negotiating trade deals with the UK.

Greg Hands: Ministers and officials in the Department for International Trade are making and planning overseas visits to a wide range of markets, in order to promote the UK as a great place to do business and with which to trade. Through these discussions, we are working to ensure we take advantage of all the opportunities available to us, including through our future trading relationships. Alongside this activity, we are holding regular bilateral Ministerial dialogues on economics and trade, namely Joint Economic and Trade Committees (JETCOs), including with Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Department for International Trade: Staff

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many civil servants work for his Department in EU member states excluding the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak on 13 October, UIN 47419 and 47396.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have had with key stakeholders in the automotive industry on the effect of the UK leaving the EU since 23 June 2016.

Mark Garnier: Ministers and officials have had many meetings with key stakeholders from across the UK automotive industry and continue to do so. These meetings have covered a wide range of issues including Brexit. For example, at the recent Paris Motorshow I, as well as officials from the Department, met a number of major existing and potential investors in the UK automotive sector.

Beer: Import Duties

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will assess the merits of negotiating changes to US import tariffs on British beer after the UK leaves the EU.

Greg Hands: Ministers and officials in the Department for International Trade are working closely with counterparts across a wide range of countries and markets, in order to promote the UK as a great place to do business and with which to trade. We are taking advantage of all the opportunities available to us, to ensure that Britain becomes the global leader in free trade once we leave the EU. We are committed to ensuring the widest possible access for British businesses, including for the food and drink sectors. At present, while we remain members of the EU, the UK supports an ambitious EU-US Free Trade Agreement that cuts regulatory and bureaucratic barriers without lowering standards, removes remaining tariffs between the EU and US, and opens up opportunities for businesses to compete for public procurement.

Trade Agreements

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Prime Minister's contribution of 12 October 2016, HC Deb, column 297, which countries have actively approached the UK about potential trade deals.

Greg Hands: We are taking advantage of all the opportunities available to us to ensure that Britain becomes the global leader in free trade once we leave the EU. As the Prime Minister has recently said, countries including Canada, China, India, Mexico, Singapore and South Korea have already told us they would welcome talks on future free trade agreements, and we have already agreed to start scoping discussions on trade agreements with Australia. More recently, my Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade announced the establishment of a UK-New Zealand trade policy dialogue that will cover market access and trade policy issues of mutual interest.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Beverage Containers: Taxation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential environmental benefits of a tax on disposable coffee cups.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Major coffee chains already have a financial obligation to recover and recycle a proportion of the packaging they place on the market, including disposable coffee cups, as they are captured under the Packaging Waste Regulations. The industry is also taking further, voluntary action aimed at significantly increasing paper cup recycling rates by 2020. We will be consulting widely on our plans for resources, waste and recycling in developing our 25 Year Environment Plan.

Packaging: EU Law

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to review regulations on food and drink packaging after the UK leaves the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is developing its 25 Year Environment Plan, part of which will consider our regulations for resources, waste and recycling.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease control

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what methods are used to deliver her Department's approved training on the humane shooting of badgers.

George Eustice: The training course on humane shooting of badgers consists of (a) a class room theory session, followed by a written theory test; and (b) Marksmanship Competency Assessment including a rifle test. Both parts of the training course are carried out by the industry organisations. However Government (Natural England) is responsible for approving the content of the training course and auditing the course tutors and course organisation.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to change its policy on the use of genetically modified organisms in farming after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: As part of the preparations for EU exit, the Government is considering possible future arrangements for the regulation of genetically modified organisms. The Government’s general view remains that policy and regulation in this area should be science-based and proportionate.

Rural Payments Agency

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the potential UK liability for EU disallowance penalties in relation to late payment by the Rural Payments Agency of Basic Payments in the 2015-16 CAP round.

George Eustice: Following the announcement made by the European Commission on 8 June, the UK will not be subject to late-payment penalties in relation to 2015 Basic Payment Scheme payments made by the Rural Payments Agency during the period 1 July to 15 October 2016.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what resources she has made available to ensure that Article 16 of the Tuberculosis (England) Order 2014 is enforced.

George Eustice: Article 16 of the Tuberculosis (England) Order 2014 concerns the requirement of herd owners to comply with cleansing and disinfection of premises following removal of TB reactors. APHA inspectors carry out spot checks on a proportion of Bovine Tuberculosis breakdown farms every year to ensure compliance with these statutory cleansing and disinfection requirements. APHA employs 208 vets and 137 animal health officers who may be involved in the administration and enforcement of these measures as part of their field duties

Agriculture: Subsidies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farmers had still not received the money they are due from the Rural Payments Agency under the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme by the end of 14 October 2016 in (a) England, (b) Cumbria and (c) Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency.

George Eustice: As at close of business 14 October, in addition to claims which the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) cannot pay due to legal reasons such as probate, there are 2 BPS claims to complete for England. For Cumbria and the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency all claims have been completed and payments issued.RPA has investigated all 13,600 claim queries identified since June through its planned payments reconciliation process and made top-up payments where necessary. The Agency continues to review new queries.

Department of Health

Health Professions: Temporary Employment

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full-time equivalent agency and temporary health workers were employed in (a) NHS England, (b) each English region and (c) Bradford Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust  in 2015-16.

Mr Philip Dunne: Data for full-time equivalent agency and temporary health workers is not held centrally in the format requested.

Health Professions: Temporary Employment

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total expenditure on full-time equivalent agency and temporary staff costs was in (a) NHS England, (b) each English region and (c) Bradford Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust in 2015-16.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Improvement has confirmed that a total of £3.64 billion was spent on agency and contract staff in 2015-16. This represents a saving of £300 million to the National Health Service, which had been on course to spend up to £4 billion prior to the controls being put in place. NHS Improvement does not currently hold aggregate data on regional spend on agency and temporary staffing. Each trust publishes its own data, which is publically available. Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Trust spent £19,071,000 on agency staff in 2015-16.

Contraception

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that access to contraception is not restricted on the basis of age.

Nicola Blackwood: Local authorities are mandated to commission open access contraceptive services that meet the needs of their population.

NHS Protect: Staff

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 40071, how many NHS Protect staff there were by the job title and role, including press and public relations staff, in each year since 2008-09.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information requested is not available prior to 2010-11. The information from 2010-11 onwards is in the attached table.



PQ48458 tables
(Word Document, 36.61 KB)

Offences against Children

William Wragg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to require clinical commission groups to start collecting data on the number of children who have been abused and need therapeutic support.

Nicola Blackwood: We are investing in new data sources on both mental health prevalence and service use. From January 2016, the new Mental Health Services Dataset began to collect data for both adults and children, including data on outcomes, length of treatment, the source of referral, location of appointment and demographic information. This includes seeking to improve available data on the prevalence of child abuse and related mental health issues, using the national children and adolescent mental health survey, as well as data collection specifically on the prevalence of child sexual abuse. This collection will start in targeted settings where people who are sexually abused are more likely to be seen: for example in children and adolescent mental health service, adult mental health, maternity and public health services (contraceptive and sexual health clinics, substance misuse, school nurses, and health visiting).NHS Digital is working with Departmental officials and with clinicians to develop the technical capability and data collection will start to be rolled out from the beginning of the next financial year. The data collection will help clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to better plan services for people who have been abused.All CCGs have already produced Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) to transform their local offer to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. These Plans cover the full spectrum of mental health issues; from prevention and improving access to support and care for existing and emerging mental health problem to ensuring that inpatient services are available for those who need them, including therapeutic support for children who have been abused. From 2016-17 children and young people’s mental health is being mainstreamed as part of the normal NHS England planning cycle so that LTPs are integrated into the wider Sustainability and Transformation Planning process.

MMR Vaccine: Children

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what activities have been undertaken by (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department to promote the benefits of children having the MMR vaccine since 2011.

Nicola Blackwood: The Department was responsible for the policy and delivery of all vaccination programmes including the measles mumps and rubella (MMR) programme until 2013. It promoted these programmes in a variety of ways such as leaflets and posters.In 2013, Public Health England (PHE) took on responsibility for the planning and implementation of these programmes. It has provided MMR related information in the form of media interviews, press releases, social media bulletins, advertising leaflets and posters as well as replying to public correspondence.In April 2013, an MMR catch up campaign was launched in England in response to the measles outbreak in Wales and parts of England. A number of resources were produced for healthcare professionals and local authorities including:- presentations and videos by immunisation leads in PHE and the Department;- joint letter from the Chief Medical Officer, NHS England’s Medical Director and Nursing Director;- MMR flyers and leaflets; and- template letters for schools, parents, out of hours walk-in centres and accident and emergency departments.In May 2013, an MMR National Action Plan was published. This was developed by PHE and NHS England in consultation with the Department. It set out a comprehensive set of local and national actions to increase MMR vaccine coverage among those most at risk.

Alcoholic Drinks

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of recommending newly created synthetic alcohols as safer and healthier alternatives to regular drinking when such alcohols reach the market.

Nicola Blackwood: We will consider the evidence if and when those products come to market. Where new forms of alcohol are also novel food, they would be subject to premarket assessment to evaluate their safety.

Alcoholic Drinks: Packaging

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to introduce (a) plain packaging for and (b) graphic warnings on alcohol sold in supermarkets.

Nicola Blackwood: The Government has no plans to introduce plain packaging for or graphic warnings on, alcohol products.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 23 March 2016 to Question 31153, how many NHS organisations have now adopted the national whistleblowing policy and what progress has been made in developing a support scheme to secure work for NHS employees who have made protected disclosures.

Mr Philip Dunne: National Health Service trusts are expected to adopt the national whistleblowing policy as a minimum standard by the end of March 2017. NHS England is developing employment support for whistleblowers from primary care and NHS Improvement is doing the same for those from trusts. NHS England has co-designed a scheme with employers and whistleblowers and in the next few days are about to recruit into the first pilot cohort. Dr Henrietta Hughes is the new National Guardian for speaking up freely and safely within the NHS. She took up post on 4 October 2016. The creation of this role followed the February 2015 publication of ‘Freedom to Speak Up’ by Sir Robert Francis. It is one of a number of measures introduced to ensure health and care workers are encouraged to speak up, and are protected from discrimination when they do so. The National Guardian is completely independent. Dr Hughes will help to lead cultural change within NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts, so that healthcare staff feel confident and supported to raise concerns about patient care. The National Guardian will lead and support a network of local Freedom to Speak Up Guardians.

Maternity Services

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many pregnant women have been offered personal birth budgets since February 2016.

Mr Philip Dunne: Personal budgets for maternity services is one of the recommendations in Better Births, the report of the independent review of maternity services. Implementation of the review is being taken forward through the Maternity Transformation Board. NHS England is working with seven Maternity Choice and Personalisation Pioneers, encompassing 36 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in total, to develop and test ways of improving choice in maternity services. The pioneer sites, each made up of clusters of CCGs, are working to widen choice across CCG boundaries and deepen choice by providing opportunities for new providers. The first stage of this is the development of Personal Maternity Care Budgets (PMCBs) as mechanisms to empower women to take control in choosing who provides their care. Unlike Personal Health Budgets, PMCBs do not offer the option of direct payments to women. They are intended instead to provide a visible, transparent and active mechanism for women to choose where they wish to receive their antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care and will facilitate the flow of money between providers, depending on these choices. NHS England is working with pioneers on the design of PMCBs and the pioneers are also developing local implementation plans, including support tools for women, general practitioners, midwives and other relevant healthcare professions, to help women make meaningful choices, with the aim of rolling them out progressively in the seven Pioneer areas from November 2016. Their impact will be evaluated to inform the promotion and adoption of PMCBs across the country.

Maternity Services

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress the NHS has made on piloting the recommendations of the National Maternity Review since that review was published in February 2016.

Mr Philip Dunne: In its report, Better Births, the National Maternity Review set out a vision for future maternity services which provide safe, personalised, kind, professional and family friendly care. The Maternity Transformation programme was established in July to take forward the recommendations of the Review. It brings together partners from across the system and is independently chaired by Sarah-Jane Marsh, chief executive of Birmingham Children’s Hospital. A comprehensive programme of work is being developed to implement the vision set out in Better Births, early progress includes: - The formation of Local Maternity Systems (LMS) to bring commissioners and providers together and develop a local shared vision for improved maternity services and outcomes; - The creation of Early Adopters where NHS England is considering applications from LMS to implement key elements of Better Births including personalised care planning, continuity of carer, better postnatal and perinatal mental health care, innovations to the payment system and delivering safer care; and - The selection of seven Maternity Choice Pioneers who are working to test ways of improving choice and personalisation for women accessing maternity services and roll out Personalised Maternity Care Budgets. On 17 October my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced a series of initiatives to help us meet our ambition to halve by 2030 the rate of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths and brain injuries that occur during or soon after birth, with thepublication of the Safer Maternity Care action plan. Further detail of the plan can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safer-maternity-care

Health Services: Greater Manchester

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Healthier Together programme.

Mr Philip Dunne: No assessment has been made. These are matters for the local National Health Service. We are advised by NHS England that effectiveness of the Healthier Together programme will be continually monitored throughout the implementation phase. The aim of the programme is to improve standards and quality of care for all patients across Greater Manchester. To support this, a “Healthier Together Dashboard” has been developed and is now operational. The Dashboard allows real time tracking of compliance with the Healthier Together standards. This began with the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit standards for emergency general surgery. These are being monitored and improved within and across sectors, to demonstrate how compliance with standards will be improved. The next stage will add National Cardiac Arrest Audit information.

Health Services: Greater Manchester

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the status is of the Healthier Together programme in Greater Manchester.

Mr Philip Dunne: These are matters for the local National Health Service. We are advised by NHS England that the Healthier Together programme has now moved into implementation and is part of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership. The recently appointed Chief Officer for the Partnership has assumed the role of Programme Sponsor to oversee the implementation phase. All areas of Greater Manchester are developing detailed plans and business cases for the transfer of care for high risk elective general surgery patients to the hub sites from 1 April 2017. This is a new way of working whereby current teams from different hospitals will work under single governance and leadership to achieve the required quality and safety standards for patients.

Health Services: Greater Manchester

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on the Healthier Together programme in Greater Manchester since that programme was introduced.

Mr Philip Dunne: Costs associated with the Healthier Together Programme are a matter for the local National Health Service.

Health Services: Greater Manchester

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the measurable outcomes of the Healthier Together programme.

Mr Philip Dunne: No assessment has been made. These are matters for the local National Health Service. We are advised by NHS England that clinicians working within the programme have started to share best practice across Greater Manchester which has already improved patient outcomes. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS+) involves pre-operative patient assessment, using exercise testing, to assess how well a patient should cope with surgery. This is used at Central Manchester NHS Foundation Trust and has demonstrated a 50% reduction in significant post-operative respiratory complications across a group of a thousand patients. In addition, ERAS+ has led to shorter stays in hospital for patients.

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take in response to the findings on bullying and harassment in the Care Quality Commission's report on the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, published on 29 September 2016.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take in response to the findings of the Care Quality Commission's report on the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, published on 29 September 2016, relating to the performance of that Trust.

Mr Philip Dunne: Following the publication of the Care Quality Commission report on 29 September, NHS Improvement placed South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust in Special Measures. The Trust will receive a package of tailored support to address specific issues and drive improvements.These measures include: buddying arrangements with South Central Ambulance Service, the appointment of an Improvement Director and publication of the Trust’s recovery plan in November, which will include a detailed programme to specifically address the bullying and harassment culture within the Trust. An oversight group has already been established to be chaired by NHS Improvement and including representatives from NHS England, clinical commissioning groups and the Trust to oversee the delivery of quality improvements.There has been a change in leadership following the resignation of the Chair and Chief Executive. NHS Improvement has appointed an interim Chair and continues to support organisational development and cultural change work, including strengthening complaints processes.

NHS: Finance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much of his Department's budget for NHS providers' capital was transferred to revenue spending in each year since 2009-10; and what the capital budget and revenue budget was for NHS providers in each of those years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Department has twice transferred funding from the Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (CDEL) to the Revenue Departmental Expenditure Limit (RDEL) since HM Treasury’s Supply Estimates and budgetary controls were changed under the Alignment (Clear Line of Sight) Project (part of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill 2010). 2014-15 –- £640 million was transferred from the Department’s group CDEL budget to the RDEL as part of the 2014-15 Supplementary Estimates exercise.- No adjustments were made to the National Health Service trust or foundation trust CDEL spending plans to fund this transfer.2015-16 –- £950 million was transferred from the Department’s group CDEL budget to the RDEL as part of the 2015-16 Supplementary Estimates exercise.- A full explanation of how this transfer was funded was supplied to the Health Select Committee and this has been published on the UK Parliament website, via the following link:https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/Health/Department-of-Health-15-16-Supplementary-Supply-Estimate-Offsetting-mitigations.pdf- The relevant narrative on the transfers is extracted below –a. No specific programmes have been stopped. Savings have been achieved via slippage on original planned trust capital, in line with previous years - NHS trusts approximately £0.3 billion, foundation trusts approximately £0.5 billion.Plus benefits from centrally managed programmes, in the main relating to the budgetary impact of an amendment to the NHS Supply Chain Consumables contract. This amendment prompted a review of the accounting arrangements, which concluded that NHS Business Services Authority now has control over Supply Chain activities – therefore the transactions will be consolidated into their own financial statements. The financial asset (investment in NHS Supply Chain) has been replaced with inventory, receivables and creditors, generating a net credit to the CDEL outturn.Whilst spending by NHS trusts and foundation trusts does impact on the Department’s group RDEL and CDEL controls, they are not allocated budgets directly by the Department. They fund their activities via income received from trading relating to provision of healthcare services, from NHS England and clinical commissioning groups.

Psychiatric Nurses

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many community psychiatric nurses were employed by the NHS in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital publishes monthly Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) data on the number of community psychiatric nurses employed in the National Health Service in England. Following a public consultation in 2015, categorisation of trusts and staff groups included in the monthly HCHS publication changed. NHS Digital has also provided a revised time series on the new basis which allows comparison with previous years back to September 2009. The following table shows the number of community psychiatric nurses employed in the NHS between June 2010 and June 2016, the latest date for which data is available. As at 30 June full-time equivalentCommunity psychiatric nurses201020112012201320142015201615,54915,39915,15315,27615,11015,15516,013 Source: NHS Digital Hospital and Community Health Services monthly workforce statistics

NHS: Sustainable Development

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many local health and care providers have sought advice from private sector consultants in drafting Sustainability and Transformation Plan Footprints; and at what cost to the NHS.

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been paid to accountancy firms for work on sustainability and transformation plans in the NHS in (a) total and (b) each footprint area.

David Mowat: Sustainability and Transformation Plans are local plans and have been developed locally. Neither the Department nor NHS England collects data on whether these plans have been developed with outside advice.

Social Services: Children

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish Christine Lenehan's review of children's services and learning disabilities.

Nicola Blackwood: Dame Christine Lenehan is in the final stages of completing her report into the co-ordination of care, support and treatment for children and young people with complex needs (and behaviour that challenges) involving mental health problems and learning disabilities and/or autistic spectrum condition.

Mental Illness: Employment

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's policy is on supporting people with mental health issues who are employed in traditionally male-dominated industries.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding his Department allocates to supporting people with mental health issues who are employed in traditionally male-dominated industries.

Nicola Blackwood: We are committed to supporting people with mental health problems to stay in work and the Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions established a joint Work and Health Unit to look at these matters. Improving access to mental health services for those who need them is important and we are increasing access to talking therapy services so that 1.5 million people per year will be able to access support by 2020. We will shortly be publishing a Green Paper on work and health, which will include a focus on mental health as we know that people with mental health conditions fare poorly in the labour market. Our aim is to help transform the lives and prospects of disabled people and those with a health condition. We know that the stigma surrounding mental health can create barriers to people seeking and receiving support. We have recently announced £20 million of additional funding to the national Time to Change anti-stigma programme, in conjunction with Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund, which works with employers to support them in tackling the stigma in the workplace associated with poor mental health. This next phase of Time to Change places a particular focus on stigma experienced by men.

Circle Holdings

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 48022, how he monitors the performance of clinical commissioning groups and health service providers on their delivery of the Getting it right first time requirements; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) was a recommendation in Lord Carter’s report on Hospital Productivity published in February 2016. NHS Improvement is responsible for delivering the recommendations of that report. It is accountable to the Secretary of State for Health for the delivery of the overall programme and the Secretary of State regularly reviews progress. NHS Improvement has provided an update on its plans for delivering and monitoring performance in individual clinical commissioning groups and health service providers.The orthopaedic GIRFT pilot was led by the programme lead Professor Tim Briggs. The GIRFT team mined nationally available data sources and produced a report for each provider of orthopaedics in England that included a consolidated view of all available data and metrics pertaining to each provider’s clinical and financial performance at a service line/individual specialty level. Professor Briggs then visited every trust in England to discuss their data in order to reflect on variation in clinical practice, management approach and variations in procurement. The reports benchmark providers nationally and explore how clinical evidence is considered and informs practice. This is a highly detailed approach facilitating an extensive understanding of the links between practice, outcome and cost drivers, which in turn enabled a series of recommendations to be developed benefitting quality of care and finances of both providers and commissioners. Following the provider level reports and visits, a national report and recommendations were produced. The Model Hospital will provide a platform for an ongoing series of dashboards to track performance against key performance metrics. The GIRFT team will be working closely with NHS England’s RightCare programme which is aimed at commissioners to align their work to achieve joint objectives.

Mental Health Services: Hospital Beds

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many new specialised mental health beds have been commissioned since April 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Nicola Blackwood: Since April 2013, NHS England has commissioned an additional 65 specialist mental health beds. These were: 56 child and adolescent mental health services ‘Tier 4’ beds; seven perinatal mental health beds; and two adult medium secure mental health beds.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the NHS England moratorium on the commissioning of new specialised mental health services imposed in 2013 has been lifted; and if he will make a statement.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of a moratorium on the commissioning of new specialised mental health services on patient access to mental health care; and if he will make a statement.

Nicola Blackwood: NHS England is reviewing the provision of specialised beds for adult secure mental health services, tier 4 child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and perinatal mental health services. NHS England is expected to start a procurement process soon to ensure that the provision of mental health beds across the country supports improved access and care close to home where possible.Since 2013 NHS England has continued to commission additional specialised mental health beds to provide further capacity in areas where it is required. This has included 56 tier 4 CAMHS beds, seven perinatal mental health beds and two medium secure mental health services beds.The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health made recommendations for improving the commissioning of inpatient specialised mental health services, including national commissioners working more closely with local commissioners to better meet the needs of local populations.

Health Services: Contracts for Services

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 48024, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the costs to health service providers of tendering for contracts and the implications for paying for patient services; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: We do not collect information on which providers have been awarded contracts or the costs to providers of tendering for contracts, but commissioners are required to publish information on the contracts they award. The NHS Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition (No2) Regulation 2013 to requires Monitor, now working with the NHS Trust Development Authority as NHS Improvement, to ensure that choice and competition operate in the best interests of patients, that procurement decisions by commissioners achieve the best results, and that all providers are treated fairly. In making judgements on which services to commission, clinical commissioning groups should take all possible steps to ensure that they are buying the best services for patients from the best providers available. It remains for commissioners to decide how best to procure services in the interests of their patients while seeking best value for taxpayers.

NHS England: Finance

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what level of funding has been (a) requested by and (b) allocated to NHS England for (i) 2017-18, (ii) 2018-19 and (iii) 2019-20.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from the Chief Executive of NHS England on the financial settlement allocated for the NHS for (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Spending Review settled the level of funding that the National Health Service in England will receive over the course of this Parliament, with the NHS England Chief Executive a full party to the discussions with HM Treasury. As the Chief Executive said at the time the Spending Review was announced, “our case for the NHS has been heard and actively supported’’. Regular discussions around the finances of the NHS continue to take place between my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Chief Executive of NHS England. The NHS will be receiving £10 billion more per year in real terms by 2020-21 compared to 2014-15. The following table sets out the financial settlement allocated to the NHS. NHS budget for Spending Review period Revenue and capital combined2015-162016-172017-182018-192019-202020-21Total (£ million)100,500105,975109,337111,824114,929119,035Real terms increase on previous year (%) 3.7%1.3%0.3%0.7%1.3%Real terms increase on 2015-16 baseline (£ billion) 3.85.35.86.78.4Real terms increase on 2014-15 baseline (£ billion)2.06.07.08.09.010.0 Note:These figures differ from the NHS Total Departmental Expenditure Limit (TDEL) figures announced at the Spending Review due to a number of technical adjustments, including transfers of functions. The main transfer of function is the move of 0-5 public health services from NHS England to local government. There are a small number of other transfers including the move of the Leadership Academy to Health Education England. To ensure comparability of numbers, in this table £500 million has been removed from the 2015-16 baseline, representing 6 months of funding for 0-5 public health services between 1 April and 30 September 2015 and these other planned transfers.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS England operations were cancelled in 2015 due to doctor illness.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Warrington Hospital: Operating Theatres

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times operating theatres at Warrington Hospital have been closed each evening since January 2016; and what the reason was for those closures.

Mr Philip Dunne: These are operational matters for the Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and we have written to Mr Steve McGuirk, Chair of the Trust informing him of the hon. Member’s question. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Chemists' Shops: Closures

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of pharmacies that will close as a result of the proposed 12 per cent reduction in funding for pharmacies in England from December 2016 until March 2017.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the consultation on the community pharmacy contractual framework, what estimate he has made of the number of pharmacies he forecasts will close.

David Mowat: Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of community pharmacy services including public access to medicines. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we have a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population. Our reforms are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. A consequence may be the closure of some pharmacies but that is not our aim.The Government announced the package of reforms for the community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond on 20 October 2016. This included full details of how the Pharmacy Access Scheme will operate, as well an impact assessment for the package of reforms. This can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-pharmacy-reforms

Pharmacy

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the outcome of the consultation on the community pharmacy contractual framework, if he will introduce a maximum (a) distance and (b) travel time to a community pharmacy.

David Mowat: The Government announced the package of reforms for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond on 20 October 2016. This included full details of how the Pharmacy Access Scheme will operate. This can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-pharmacy-reforms

Contraceptives

Mims Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the implications of a reduction in the number of healthcare professionals trained to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception on women's access to contraception.

Nicola Blackwood: No such assessment has been made. Since 2013, local authorities have been mandated to commission open access contraceptive services, including intra-uterine methods that meet the needs of their local populations. Data published by NHS Digital on 19 October 2016 showed that the number of women fitted with intra-uterine methods in sexual and reproductive health services increased slightly from 2014/15 (121,900) to 2015/16 (123,500) and by 79% compared to 10 years ago.

Circle Holdings

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of patient involvement in the commissioning process for musculoskeletal services carried out by Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group prior to the granting of that contract to Circle Holdings PLC; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: The procurement of local health services by means of competitive tendering is a matter for the local National Health Service. We are advised by NHS England that Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) undertook the first of its engagement events on the proposed redesign of the musculoskeletal services pathway during November 2013. We understand that this initial engagement enabled the CCG to identify that the existing pathway was felt to be fragmented and complex for patients. In light of that, a new model was proposed in December 2013, and was shared with the public at workshops during 2014. We are further advised by NHS England that the proposed pathway was outlined in the draft service specification, which was shared with the patient reference group (PRG) during February and March 2016. We understand that the specification was sent to PRG members to cascade to their patient participation groups and other groups of which they are members, such as the Pensioners’ Forum.

Women and Equalities

Females: Directors

Jess Phillips: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to improve the representation of women at senior executive levels in (a) FTSE 100 and (b) all businesses.

Caroline Dinenage: We have more women on boards than ever before, and no all-male boards in the FTSE 100. I fully endorse the business-led target of 33% women on FTSE 350 boards by 2020. To achieve this, we have established the new, independent Hampton-Alexander Review that will have a particular focus on improving gender representation in the all-important executive layer of FTSE companies.